 Du Hongjian was born in 709, during the second reign of Emperor Zhongzong.His family was from Pu Prefecture (濮州, roughly modern Heze, Shandong) and claimed its ancestry from the Qin Dynasty general Du He (), and traced itself to a line of officials during Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty.It was said that the clan's members were on such good terms that it did not divide for five generations down to Du Xian.