Feng Guifen was born to a family of wealthy landowners in Suzhou, the wealthy Chinese city near Shanghai, in 1809. As a young man, Feng excelled at the imperial examinations, passing the local and the provincial exams at a young age.

Like Wei Yuan, however, Feng’s progress up the examination ladder stalled at the provincial stage. Following in Wei’s footsteps, his talent came to the attention of Lin Zexu, who added him to his staff.  Feng eventually passed the national exams and served as a compiler in Beijing’s Hanlin Academy.