 His paternal grandfather, an actor, was one of the few to appear in Chinese films at the time, and the first to introduce the spoken word into the traditionally sung Chinese theatre.As a result of the Cultural Revolution, Gu's grandparents were taken away for "reeducation", and much of the artistic documents and objects in the house were seized or destroyed by the authorities.Nevertheless, like many young Chinese of the time, Gu aspired to grow up to become one of the Red Guards, and eventually succeeded.