Background
It is not known which year Wei Yuanzhong was born, but it is known that his family was from Song Prefecture (宋州, roughly modern Shangqiu, Henan). He was originally named Wei Zhenzai, but later changed his name to observe naming taboo for Lady Yang, the mother of Emperor Gaozong's second wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian). He was a student at the imperial university in his youth, and was said to be unrestrained in his behavior, and did not receive a commission as an official for a long time. During that time, he also learned various military strategies from one Jiang Rong (江融) from Zhouzhi (盩厔, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi).
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