 Jiang Wan was from Xiangxiang County (), Lingling Commandery (), which is present-day Xiangxiang, Hunan.He and his maternal cousin, Liu Min (), were already quite well known in Lingling Commandery before they even reached the age of adulthood.Around 209 or 210, Jiang Wan came to serve under the warlord Liu Bei, who was also then the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), and held the position of a scribe.