Background
Dou Shen was born in 734, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His ancestors were originally Xianbei nobles of Northern Wei with the clan name Gedouling (紇豆陵), and further claimed that they were descended from the Han Dynasty official Dou Wu and fled to Xianbei realms after Dou Wu was killed in 168 after a failed struggle with powerful eunuchs. Dou Shen's Northern Wei ancestors, after assuming the surname of Dou during the change of Xianbei names to Han names regime that Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei instituted, were ancestors in the line to officials of Western Wei and Sui Dynasty, before the early Tang dynasty chancellor Dou Kang, who was Dou Shen's great-great-great-grandfather. Dou Shen's grandfather Dou Jin (竇瑾) was not recorded with any official titles, but Dou Shen's father Dou Shenyan (竇審言) served as a county magistrate.
Read more about this topic: Dou Can
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