Emperor Xizong of Tang
Zhao Ying was born in 885, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. His family was from Huayin (華陰, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi). His great-grandfather Zhao Pu () and grandfather Zhao Ru () each had minor official careers — Zhao Pu reached the office of county secretary general, albeit of a major county (Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu)) and Zhao Ru reached the office of "Zhengzi" (), an assistant copyeditor at the Palace Library. Zhao Ying's father Zhao Juhui () was a farmer, probably at the ancestral home at Huayin.