张九龄
Zhang Jiuling was said to be intelligent in his childhood and capable in literary skills. In 685, when he was 12, he had an occasion to write a letter to Wang Fangqing, then the prefect of Guang Prefecture (, roughly modern Guangzhou, Guangdong). Wang was impressed and commented, "This child will do great things in the future." When the official Zhang Yue was exiled to the region, he met Zhang Jiuling and was impressed, and treated Zhang Jiuling with kindness. Zhang Jiuling later passed the "jinshi" imperial examinations under poet Shen Quanqi and scored the highest on that occasion. After passing several more exams, in 712 he was appointed "zuo shiyi" ().