In the early spring of 1645, Gu was appointed to be Office Manager in the Ministry of War 兵部司務 at the Southern Ming court in Nanjing.

Gu was arrested and charged by corrupt local officials, but a friend caused the case to be removed to another jurisdiction, from which he was released.

In the next year, Gu was the target of an assassination attempt instigated by a predatory neighbor formerly allied with the deceased disloyal servant.

[1] Together with Wang Fuzhi and Huang Zongxi, Gu is regarded as one of the most outstanding Confucian scholars of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

[4] The former residence of Gu Yanwu is located in Qiandeng town of Kunshan, a Ming dynasty complex with main hall, living quarter, a study and a garden.