Wu County
Fan Zhongyan, from Wu County of Suzhou, was born in Xu Prefecture (of Jiangsu Province) at a government residence. His father Fan Yong had been serving as an official of the government at different locations, and died in Xu Prefecture the subsequent year after Fan Zhongyan was born. Fan Zhongyan's mother Lady Xie returned to Suzhou and buried her husband at Fàn Clan's ancestral burial ground Tianping Mountain. Two years later, due to poverty and no financial means, Lady Xie remarried Zhu Wenhan (), a government official at the Wu County. Fan Zhongyan's name was subsequently changed to Zhu Yue (). Fan Zhongyan moved with step-father Zhu and mother Lady Xie to different places where Zhu took governmental posts. Always feeling grateful to step-father Zhu's kindness, Fan tried to pay back to Zhu's family after becoming very successful.