Fang was born in 1885 in Shou County, Lu'an, Anhui province, in the late Qing dynasty.

However, after the defeat of Sun Yat-sen in his revolt against Yuan Shikai, Fang went into exile in Japan, becoming a member of the Chinese Revolutionary Party.

However, the new Chinese government was soon rent with factionalism, and Fang sided with the northern Beiyang Government and eventually served in the Fengtian clique army under Zhang Zongchang until 1925, when he went over to the Nationalist army of General Feng Yuxiang.

Following the Japanese invasion of Jehol in February 1933, Fang joined the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement.

Living in Guilin for a time, Fang had to move to Hong Kong in 1939 under threat by the Kuomintang.