Yuwen Shu
It is not known when Yuwen Shiji was born. He was a son of the Sui Dynasty general and official Yuwen Shu, and he had at least two older brothers, Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Zhiji (宇文智及). During the reign of Sui's founder Emperor Wen, Yuwen Shiji was, on account of his father's contributions to Sui, created the Duke of Xincheng County (新城县公). On one occasion, Emperor Wen took Yuwen Shiji into his bedroom to converse with him privately, and he was impressed by Yuwen Shiji sufficiently that he gave his granddaughter the Princess Nanyang (南陽公主) (the daughter of his son Yang Guang the Crown Prince) to Yuwen Shiji in marriage. They had one son, Yuwen Chanshi (宇文禪師). Because he married a princess, he looked down at his brother Yuwen Zhiji, but appeared to have a cordial relationship with Yuwen Huaji.