His style name was Xudong (旭东) and his pseudonym was Shutong (书同).

In 1909, he enrolled in the Dongshan High School and graduated in 1911, where he studied alongside Mao Zedong and Xiao San.

In 1919, he traveled to France for the Work-Study Program, becoming the secretary of China-France Education Association.

He returned to China in 1924, and served in various posts in universities and colleges in Beijing.

[1] From 1931 to 1945, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, he lived in France to escape the violence.