Emperor Xizong of Tang
Qian Chuanguan was born in 887, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, at a time when his father Qian Liu was serving as the prefect of Hang Prefecture (杭州, in modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang), loosely as a vassal of the warlord Dong Chang the military governor ("Jiedushi") of Weisheng Circuit (威勝, headquartered in modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He was Qian Liu's seventh son, and his mother was Qian Liu's concubine Lady Chen.