The traditional sources conflict about Liu Qian's family origins, but what they agreed on was that he came from what was then considered meager social station. According to the New Book of Tang, he was from Shangcai, but came to reside at Feng Prefecture due to disturbances in his home region. According to the History of the Five Dynasties, his Father — referred to as Liu Ren'an (劉仁安) — came to reside in the Lingnan region after serving as the secretary general of Chao Prefecture (潮州, in modern Chaozhou, Guangdong). According to the New History of the Five Dynasties, his Father — referred to as Liu Anren (劉安仁) — was originally from Shangcai and took refuge in the Min (閩, i.e., modern Fujian) region, later becoming a merchant who settled down in the Lingnan region. Regardless of how he came to be in the region, he eventually became a low-level army officer in the Qinghai Circuit army. Despite his low social station, the military governor (Jiedushi) of the region (which was then known as Lingnan East Circuit (嶺南東道), although it would later be renamed Qinghai), Wei Zhou (韋宙), was impressed by Liu's talents, and decided to give his niece to Liu in marriage. When Wei's wife objected, Wei stated, "This man is no ordinary man. Perhaps one day my descendants could depend on him." Subsequently, Liu distinguished himself in campaigns against agrarian rebels.
