Emperor Ai of Tang
Li Zuo was born in 892, at the main palace at the Tang imperial capital Chang'an. His father Emperor Zhaozong was already emperor at that point, and he was Emperor Zhaozong's ninth son. His mother was Consort He, who had previously given birth to an older brother of his, Li Yu, Prince of De, who was Emperor Zhaozong's oldest son.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Traditionally, the era started with the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907 AD and ended with the founding of the Song dynasty in 960. Many states had been "de facto" independent kingdoms long before 907. After the Tang had collapsed, the kings who controlled the Central plain crowned themselves as emperors. War between kingdoms occurred frequently to gain control of the central plain for legitimacy and then over the rest of China. The last of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms states, the Northern Han, was not vanquished until 979.