Born Hu Ching-ya (胡經亞) in Nanjing, he was also known as Chen-ou (震歐), by the courtesy name Hsu-jou (絮若), or the pen name Hung-tzu (蘅子).
After graduating from the Department of English at Fudan University, Hu taught at a middle school in Jiangsu, then at his alma mater before accepting a lectureship in journalism at the Central School of Governance.
After the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Hu moved the newspaper to Jinhua, and later established editions of the Southeastern Daily in Yanping and Lishui.
Hu resigned his position at the Central Daily News to establish the Shanghai edition of the Southeastern Daily and the affiliated Southeastern Journalism Company, which focused on the Hangzhou and Shanghai editions of the newspaper.
Outside of his legislative service, Hu was elected to several terms as a member of the Central Standing Committee of the Kuomintang during the 1960s,[2][3][4] led the Central Motion Picture Corporation,[3][4] and chaired the 1965 Chia Hsin Awards committee.