宇文泰
It is not known when Yuchi Jiong was born. His ancestors were a branch of the Tuoba tribe, which founded Northern Wei, and their subtribe was referred to as the Yuchi—and therefore took the name of the subtribe as the surname. His father Yuchi Qidou (尉遲俟兜) married the sister of Northern Wei's branch successor state Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai, and they had two sons together—Yuchi Jiong and his brother Yuchi Gang (尉遲綱). (Yuchi Jiong's mother was later known as Princess Changle during Northern Zhou.) Yuchi Qidou died fairly early. Yuchi Jiong, who was said to be handsome, intelligent, and ambitious in his youth, served under his uncle Yuwen Tai, and married the Princess Jinming, the daughter of Emperor Wen of Western Wei. He showed talent both in military matters and in governance, and Yuwen Tai gave him increasingly important positions.