Yuwen Tai
Yuwen Xian was born in 544, as the fifth son of Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of Western Wei. His mother was Yuwen Tai's concubine Lady Dabugan, who was ethnically Rouran. He was initially created the Duke of Fucheng and was said to be intelligent from his youth, and he and his older brother Yuwen Yong (by another concubine, Lady Chinu) studied the "Shi Jing" and the "Zuo Zhuan" together. Once, when Yuwen Tai was giving his sons horses, Yuwen Xian alone picked a multicolored horse. When Yuwen Tai asked him why he did so, he reasoned that in battle, a multicolored horse would be easier to tell apart from others. Yuwen Tai was pleased with the response, and from that point on, whenever he saw multicolored horses, he would award them to Yuwen Xian.