新五代史
Yuan Xiangxian was born in either 864 (according to the "History of the Five Dynasties") or 865 (according to the "New History of the Five Dynasties"), during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang. The family of his father Yuan Jingchu () claimed to be descended from the mid-Tang Dynasty chancellor Yuan Shuji. His great-grandfather Yuan Jinchao () was a deputy mayor of Chengdu, while his grandfather Yuan Zhongyi () served as a secretary at Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, then-headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan). His mother was a Lady Zhu, who was a sister to Zhu Quanzhong, the eventual founder of Later Liang but who predeceased the founding of the dynasty. In his youth, it was said that Yuan Xiangxian had a kind and generous disposition.