Zeng was born in
Heye Town of
Shuangfeng County,
Hunan, on 27 January 1909. Her great-grandfather was the second younger brother of
Zeng Guofan and a general in the
Qing Empire. Her father Zeng Guangzuo () was an official in the Qing Empire. Her mother Chen Jiying () was the daughter of Hunan Provincial Governor
Chen Baozhen and the aunt of
Chen Yinke. She had seven brothers and sisters. Her eldest brother Zeng Zhaocheng () graduated from
Harvard University. Her second elder brother
Zeng Zhaolun graduated from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an academician of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Her third elder brother Zeng Zhaojie () graduated from the
Great China University. In 1923 she attended the Yifang Girls' School in
Changsha, which was established by her third elder female cousin Zeng Baosun (). In 1929 she was accepted to the
National Central University, where she studied archaeology under Hu Xiaoshi (). In 1935, when she was a graduate student at the
University of Nanking, she went to the
University of London to study archaeology at her own expense. After graduation, she interned at the
National Museum of Germany. After returning to China, she was assigned to the Central Museum. ==Selected bibliography==