Zhou Ji
It is not known when Qin Zongquan was born. His family was from Cai Prefecture, which, at the start of his known career, was part of Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan), and Qin served as an officer at Zhongwu's capital Xu Prefecture (). In late 880, when the major agrarian rebel Huang Chao was poised to cross the Huai River north to attack the center of Tang Dynasty territory, then-military governor ("Jiedushi") of Zhongwu, Xue Neng (), sent Qin to try to contain Huang's advance. However, Xue was then killed in a mutiny led by Zhou Ji. Hearing of Xue's death, Qin expelled the prefect of Cai Prefecture and seized it. When Emperor Xizong subsequently commissioned Zhou as Zhongwu's military governor, Zhou made Qin the prefect of Cai Prefecture.