hiː wʌz bˈɔːɹn ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ɪlˈɛvən ɪn ɐn ˈɛɹiə nˈoʊn æz hˈɛŋʒæŋ kˈaʊnti tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ, nˈaʊ ˈɛnɪˌæŋ, hˈɛnən tə ʃˈaʊ ɡˈuː tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ, nˈaɪnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi sˈɪks wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd sˈɪksti fˈoːɹ ænd lˈeɪdi lˈaɪ tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ tʃˈaɪniːzlˌɛɾɚ, dˈiː. wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd θˈɜːɾi tˈuː ɔːɹ wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd θˈɜːɾi θɹˈiː.
He was born in 1011 in an area known as Hengzhang county (衡漳, now Anyang, Henan) to Shao Gu (邵古, 986–1064) and Lady Li (李氏, d. 1032 or 1033).