Zhao Shuicheng, courtesy name Zuo Xiong, was from Beijing and belonged to the Manchu ethnic group.

Zhao Shuicheng graduated from Peking University and later served as the director of academic affairs at Nankai School.

While teaching at Nankai School, Zhao Shuicheng formed a close friendship with Lao She, Dong Zirou, Luo Changpei, and Bai Dazhou, and they maintained a close relationship.

In the 1930s, Zhao Shuicheng engaged in research on folk literature and worked for a long time in Dingxian, Hebei, focusing on literacy campaigns. During this period, he compiled a large number of reading materials for the common people.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhao Shuicheng moved to Changsha with the China Civil Education Promotion Association and served as the education director for the Hunan Anti-Japanese Cadre School. In the early 1940s, he was appointed as the principal of the Hunan Provincial Normal School.

In 1945, Zhao Shuicheng became a professor and the director of academic affairs at the Rural Construction Institute in Beibei, Chongqing.