When he was nine his grandmother died and he was entrusted to a great aunt. She in turn died when Hsia was 13, after which he went to live with an uncle and aunt in Hankou. They wanted to send him to join his elder brother in Changsha, but his brother didn't have the means to take care of him either.
九歲時祖母過世，轉而由三叔祖母扶養，十三歲那年，三叔祖母也撒手人寰，還是孩子的夏陽輾轉到漢口去投靠叔嬸，叔嬸卻要他去長沙投靠哥哥，然而哥哥也無力撫養他。