She received a strict education at home and graduated from Mu-cheng High School, a noted school for girls. Yenching and Tsinghua universities were closed because of the war, so she attended Changsha Provisional University, the predecessor to Southwest United University, and later earned a degree in history and sociology from Chilu University.
她的家教極嚴，中學念的是知名女校慕貞中學，畢業時正逢燕京、清華都因戰事關閉，所以她先是肄業於西南聯大前身長沙臨時大學，後來又在齊魯大學修完歷史社會學學位。