Kuo Shui-tan (1908-1995) carried the nickname “Thousand Feet”based, according to fellow author Wang Chang-hsiung (1915-2000), on a line from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai -“The waters of Peach Blossom Pond, a thousand feet deep, pale in comparison to Wang Lun's affections for me.” This poetic turn of phrase reflects nearly perfectly Kuo' s devotion to his friends and to the poetic arts.

Kuo Shui-tan, a native of Jiali District in Tainan and an iconic author of Taiwan’s southwestern salt flats, produced over his long career an extensive catalogue of tanka (short poems), haiku, vernacular poetry, novels, and essays as well as literary commentaries . He was a member of a number of literary societies during the Japanese Colonial Period (1895-1945) and his novel Some Guy’s Journal was honored with a 1935 “Best New Author”award by the Ōsaka Mainichi Shinbun. Kuo continued to write after the Second World War, with his efforts increasingly focused on the study of culture and history . He received the 1st Nan Ying Literature Prize' s “Outstanding Contribution” award in 1993. Most of his creative output touches on local themes, friendship , and the exposure of social injustice.
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