Gu Yong was born in Wu county of Wu prefecture. He learned the classics and calligraphy from Cai Yong when the latter came to Wu briefly as a refugee. His family is one of the four illustrious houses of Wu (Zhu, Lu, Gu, Zhang). He was a minister of Wu and became a governor of several prefectures throughout Yangzhou. He was successful in pacify and integrate rebels and minorities under his jurisdiction. Cai Yong (Chinese: 蔡邕) was a musician , a calligrapher of the Han dynasty and author of Qin Cao 【琴操】. He plays the guqin and his daughter is the famous Cai Wenji. ... Wu may refer to: Wu (Chinese word) Wu (region), a region in China, associated with: Wu (linguistics), a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in the Wu region State of Wu, a state in the Wu region during the Spring and Autumn Period Kingdom of Wu, a state in southeastern China... Yangzhou (Simplified Chinese: 扬州; Traditional Chinese: 揚州; Pinyin: Yángzhōu; former spellings: Yang-chou, Yangchow; literally Rising Prefecture) is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

When Sun Quan became the Prince of Wu, he bestowed the nobility title (Yang Xui Xiang Hou) on Gu Yong. After Sun Quan declared himself the emperor, Gu Yong was appointed to the high rank of Prime Minister. Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: Sūn Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, was the third ruler of the State of Wu and the founder of Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. ...

Gu Yong was said to be a shy person and a teetotaler. However, whenever he does speak, he speaks with confidence and reason. This was a major reason why the Emperor often test his ideas on Gu Yong to see what Gu Yong thinks of the ideas. Gu Yong was a very modest person who does not repay his enemies with malice but always did everything according to the law.