Hu Shuli was born in Beijing, from a lineage of notable journalists: her grandfather, Hu Zhongchi, was a famous translator and editor at Shen Bao and his older brother Hu Yuzhi (1896–1986), "an early proponent of language reform, the use of Esperanto, and realism in literature," was involved in editing and publishing.[3] Her mother, Hu Lingsheng, was a senior editor at Workers' Daily. Her father, Cao Qifeng, had a midlevel post in a trade union.