We analyzed 17 fragments from a zoned allanite–epidote crystal (ca 2.2 mm × 4.0 mm), which had formed during different prograde and retrograde stages of ultra high pressure (UHP) and amphibolite facies metamorphism (240–230 Ma, Sulu Belt, E China), for the isotopic composition of Pb, Nd, and Sr and contents of Pb, U, and Th, Sr and Rb, and Nd and Sm. Since most fragments had ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb and ²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb values less than 1, corrections for in situ Pb growth are small and uncertainties in the recalculation of the Pb isotopic compositions to 240 Ma are insignificant. The recalculated Pb falls on a linear trend in the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb vs ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram with the allanite defining the low–²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb end (17.07) of this trend and the epidote defining its high–²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb end (17.56). The recalculated data scatter in the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb vs ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram, which implies that the initial Pb isotopic variation reflects the involvement of at least three different Pb sources. The low ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr values account for a change in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr by in situ ⁸⁷Sr growth of less than 0.0007, which implies that the isotopic heterogeneity of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70601–0.7200) is a primary feature. The Pb and Sr isotope data unequivocally demonstrate that contributions from different precursor minerals result in initial isotopic heterogeneity in the metamorphic reaction product. It is likely that such an initial isotopic heterogeneity also exists for Nd, but it could not be resolved in the present study. Initially heterogeneous Pb and Sr isotope compositions imply that age differences between core and rim of large crystals may result in the determination of highly arbitrary geological rates, especially for minerals with relatively low parent-to-daughter ratios.