保定陸軍軍官學校
He entered the Qing Army Preparatory School in 1907. After graduating in 1911, he went to Wuhan and participated in the Wuchang Uprising. He joined the Tongmenghui in 1912, and then studied at the Baoding Military Academy. After graduating as an infantry officer in the autumn of 1916, he returned to Changsha and served as the staff officer at the Provincial Governor's Office of Hunan.