Emperor Zhaozong of Tang
Wang Zongyan was born in 899, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, as the youngest of the 11 sons of Wang Jian, who was then a major warlord late in the Tang Dynasty as the military governor ("Jiedushi") of its Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), ruling over modern Sichuan and Chongqing. His mother was Lady Xu, a daughter of the official Xu Geng (徐耕) and a concubine of Wang Jian's, who became his favorite. (Her younger sister was also a concubine of Wang Jian's; therefore, later when they became imperial consorts, she was known as Consort Xu the Greater, while her sister was known as Consort Xu the Lesser.) It was said that Wang Zongyan was capable in literature even in his young age, capable of writing poems.