China: Guo Moruo (1892-1978) on his 50th birthday with a child, probably his eldest son, 1942

Guo Moruo (Wade–Giles: Kuo Mo-jo; November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978) was a Chinese author, poet, historian, communist intellectual and government official from Sichuan. Guo joined the Communist Party of China in 1927.

Along with holding important government offices in the People's Republic of China, Guo was a prolific writer, not just of poetry but also fiction, plays, autobiographies, translations, and historical and philosophical treatises. He was the first President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and remained so from its founding in 1949 until his death in 1978. He was also the first president of University of Science & Technology of China (USTC).

In 1966 he was one of the first to be attacked during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. He confessed that he had not properly understood the thought of Mao Zedong and agreed that his works should be burned. However, this was not enough to protect his family. Two of his sons, Guo Minying and Guo Shiying, 'committed suicide' in 1967 and 1968 following persecution by Red Guards.

Unlike others similarly attacked, Guo's life was spared as he was chosen by Mao as 'the representative of the rightwing' in the 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1969. He had regained much of his influence by the seventies.

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