Yicheng was born Zhou Yunsheng (周云生) into a family of farming background in Wangcheng County, Changsha, Hunan, during the Republic of China.

At age 15, he paid a religious homage to Wushan Temple (乌山寺) and wrote a Gatha when he stood in front of the statue of Gautama Buddha.

In June 1949, Yicheng took refuge in the Three Jewels under master Mingxin (明心) in Xixin Chan Temple, and received complete ordination under Xuyun in the winter of 1956, as the 10th generation of the Guiyang school and the 45th generation of the Linji school, in Nanhua Temple, Shaoguan, south China's Guangdong province.

[4] In 1956, he entered the Research Institute of Buddhist Studies, which was founded by Hsu Yun and where Haideng (海灯) taught.

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong, he was transferred to a reclamation farm in Yunjushan as a farmer, until the end of 1978.