宗楚客
It is not known when Zong Chuke was born, but it is known that his family was from Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). His ancestors were originally from Nanyang, and his great-grandfather Zong Pi (宗丕) had served as an official during late Liang Dynasty (a period sometimes known as Western Liang). After Liang, then a vassal of Sui Dynasty, was terminated in 587 by Sui, which directly took control of its territory, Zong Pi resettled in what would eventually become Pu Prefecture. Zong Chuke's father Zong Ji (宗岌) served on the staff of Emperor Taizong's favorite son Li Tai the Prince of Wei and participated in a project that Li Tai commissioned—the writing of a work known as the "Journal of Geography" ("Kuodi Zhi"). Zong Chuke's mother was a cousin of Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), the second wife of Emperor Taizong's son and successor Emperor Gaozong. Zong Chuke had at least two brothers—an older brother named Zong Qinke, and a younger brother named Zong Jinqing (宗晉卿). Zong Chuke himself was described as tall, with a handsome beard. After passing the imperial examination, he served as an official, eventually serving as the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, "Hubu Shilang") late in Emperor Gaozong's reign.