Zheng Xuan
Cheng Bing was from Nandun County (), Runan Commandery (), which is located west of present-day Xiangcheng, Henan. He was a student of the Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan. When chaos broke out in China towards the end of the Han dynasty, Cheng Bing left for Jiao Province in southern China. Around this time, he studied with Liu Xi () and became well versed in the Five Classics. Shi Xie, the Administrator of Jiaozhi Commandery, appointed him as a Chief Clerk ().