On August 1, 1921, Hunan Self-Study University was officially established in Changsha.

After the founding of the Communist Party of China, in order to expand Marxist propaganda and train revolutionary cadres of the party and the regiment, Mao Zedong, He Shuheng and others decided to establish a self-study university in Hunan. The school is located in Chuanshan Society, and Mao Zedong is the director of academic affairs.

The school's "Founding Declaration" points out that students not only study, but also develop a sound personality, clean up bad habits, and prepare for the renovation of society. The school offers more than 10 courses and also organizes various research seminars, emphasizing the combination of political theoretical education with the reality of China's revolution, and the combination of mental and manual labor.

After the establishment of the self-study university, the response was enthusiastic and the number of students increased day by day. In the autumn of 1922, Li Da became the president of the self-study university. Mao Zedong, He Shuheng, Li Weihan, Xia Minghan and other teachers successively served. The school also founded the monthly magazine "New Era". The self-study university became a public activity venue of the Communist Party in Hunan and played a major role in the revolutionary movement. At the end of 1923, it was seized by the Hunan warlord Zhao Hengti.