Song Jing
Song Jing was born in 663, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. His clan was originally from Guangping (廣平, in modern Handan, Hebei), but by the time of Song Jing's birth, his family had relocated to Xing Prefecture (邢州, roughly modern Xingtai, Hebei). The clan traced its ancestor to the Northern Wei official Song Bian (), although Song Jing's grandfather Song Wuben () and father Song Xuanfu () served only as local officials. Song Jing was said to be upright in his character from youth. He was also said to be learned and capable in writing, and passed the imperial examinations when he was young.