 Yuan Shanjian was born in 524.His father Yuan Dan (元亶) the Prince of Qinghe was a son of the well-regarded Yuan Yi (元懌), also Prince of Qinghe and a son of Emperor Xiaowen.His mother Princess Hu was Yuan Dan's wife and was a granddaughter of Hu Zhen (胡真), an uncle of Emperor Xiaoming's mother Empress Dowager Hu.