On June 1, 1911 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), Xiao Hong was born into a construction landlord family in Hulan County. The distant ancestor Zhang Dai fled to the Northeast from Shen County, Dongchang Prefecture, Shandong Province during the Qianlong period. It was not until the generation of Xiao Hong's grandfather Zhang Weizhen that he moved from Fuchang Haotun in Acheng County to Hulan.

Xiao Hong’s father, Zhang Tingju, graduated from the Heilongjiang Provincial Excellent Normal School in his early years. He served as an official for a long time and had strong feudal ruling class ideas. His indifference to Xiao Hong prompted Xiao Hong to eventually embark on the road of betraying the landlord's family. Her mother, Jiang Yulan, gave birth to one daughter and three sons, with Xiao Hong being the first child. In August 1919, my mother died of illness.

In December of the same year, his father Zhang Tingju remarried, and his stepmother Liang Yalan had a general affection for Xiao Hong and her brother.

Xiao Hongru’s name was Ronghua, her scientific name was Xiuhuan, and she was later renamed Naiying by her maternal grandfather. She was deeply loved by her grandfather Zhang Weizhen, who often took her to play in the back garden. Due to her grandfather's enlightenment education, which mainly focused on ancient poetry, Xiao Hong laid a good literary foundation since she was a child.

In 1920, Xiao Hong entered the girls' department of the No. 2 Primary School in Hulan County. In 1924, she was promoted to the No. 1 primary school in the county. She studied hard and had excellent grades, especially in her composition. In 1925, after the May 30th massacre, anti-imperialist and patriotic upsurge began in Hulan County. Xiao Hong participated in the student movement for the first time, taking to the streets to demonstrate and support the patriotic struggle of Shanghai workers and students.

When Xiao Hong was in elementary school, her father arranged for her to be betrothed to Wang Enjia, the son of Wang Tinglan, the commander of the Hulan County garrison.

Xiao Hong graduated from primary school in 1926. Due to her father's obstruction and forced marriage, she was unable to continue to attend middle school and dropped out of school at home. After a year of tenacious struggle, my father was forced to compromise.