Wang Xu, better known by his pseudonym Guiguzi, was an ancient Chinese philosopher of the Warring States Period. He was the founder of the School of Diplomacy of the Hundred Schools of Thought during that period. According to popular belief, Guiguzi was a master of politics, diplomacy, military strategy and fortune-telling.
Guiguzi was born in Gui Valley (归谷) in present-day Dengfeng County, Henan. As the pronunciation of the Chinese character of "归" (meaning: return) is quite similar to "鬼" (meaning: ghost; demon), Guiguzi's birthplace was hence popularly referred to as "Guigu" (鬼谷; Ghost Valley or Demon Valley).
The earliest records of Guiguzi were found in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, in which it was stated that Guiguzi was the teacher of famous diplomats, statesmen and military strategists, including Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Sun Bin and Pang Juan. Guiguzi was also affiliated with Taoism and was believed to be an immortal who lived for hundreds of years in the human realm.
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