Born in Yuxian county in Yangquan city, North China's Shanxi province, Xu Shixu was a famous general who lived during the end of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). 

He persuaded Li Yuan, founder and first emperor of the Tang Dynasty, to rise up against the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty and later served as Governor of Caizhou (now Xincai county in Henan province) and Lord of Zhending (now Zhengding county in Hebei province).