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The Duan () was a
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
of
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
ethnicity during the era of
Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. They were a powerful tribe in the Liaoxi region and played a key role during the fall of the Western Jin dynasty. Unlike the Xianbei tribes of the steppe, the Duan were unique in that they were established within the borders of China. They ruled over their dukedom of Liaoxi and later established the Duan Qi state, although neither were considered part of the Sixteen Kingdoms. The tribe was conquered by the
Murong Murong (; Eastern Han Chinese, LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; Middle Chinese, EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking ...
-led
Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...
in 338, but remained politically influential as maternal relatives of the Murong.


History


Background

The Duan tribe was founded within the
Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...
at Liaoxi Commandery, where the
Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. Following their defeat at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, the power of the Wuhuan gradually declined as they were scattered and assimilated with the surrounding
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
and
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
. The founder of the Duan tribe was said to be Rilujuan (or Jiulujuan), a Xianbei slave of a Wuhuan family in Yuyang Commandery, the Kunuguan (庫辱官). When a famine broke out in Yuyang, the Kunuguan sent him to Liaoxi to scour for food, but he instead took the opportunity to escape. He gathered a group of exiles and rebels to establish a base at Lingzhi (令支, in present-day Qian'an,
Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
), a city that had been abandoned during the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. They adopted the
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
family name of "Duan" (段) as their tribe's name. Rilujuan was succeeded by his younger brother Qizhen, who was then succeeded by his son, Duan Wuwuchen. By the Western Jin dynasty, the tribe had grown to 30,000 families and had around 45,000 cavalry under their wing. The Duan under Wuwuchen were recognized as a vassal by the Jin court.


Liaoxi dukedom (303–338)

During the
War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( zh, t=八王之亂, s=八王之乱, p=bā wáng zhī luàn, w=pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: '' ...
, the Jin Chief Controller of
You province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'') in North China, northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient so ...
, Wang Jun sought to secure his position by allying with the surrounding
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
and
Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
Sima Ying in 304. The Duan continued to support Wang Jun in his war against the
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
state of
Han-Zhao The Han-Zhao ( zh, s=汉赵, t=漢趙, p=Hàn Zhào; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao ( zh, s=前赵, t=前趙, p=Qián Zhào), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu ( Luandi) clan of Chuge-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms per ...
, battling the Jie warlord,
Shi Le Shi Le (; 274 –17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was initially sold as a slave by Western Jin ...
with much success. Wuwuchen died in around 310, succeeded by his son, Duan Jilujuan. In 313, after some negotiations, Jilujuan agreed with Shi Le to break off relations with Wang Jun and withdraw from the conflict. Wang Jun was defeated by Shi Le in 314, but soon after, Jilujuan's brother, Duan Pidi, led a branch of the Duan loyal to Jin and seized control of Wang Jun's old capital in Jicheng. The Duan was effectively split into two, but civil war only broke out following the death of Jilujuan in 318. That year, Jilujuan's cousin, Duan Mopei, seized power from his uncle, Duan Shefuchen, and fought with Pidi over full control of the tribe. In 321, Pidi was captured and later killed by Shi Le's state of
Later Zhao Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the ...
, making Mopei the sole leader of the Duan. At this point, the Duan's state of Liaoxi stretched from Yuyang Commandery to the Liao River. After Mopei died in 325, his brother and successor, Duan Ya was quickly overthrown by his cousin, Duan Liao after he attempted to move the capital. Throughout his reign, Duan Liao fought with the rival
Murong Murong (; Eastern Han Chinese, LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; Middle Chinese, EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking ...
-Xianbei tribe in Liaodong, but suffered repeated losses. In 338, the Murong, who by now had established the
Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...
, allied with the Later Zhao to destroy the Duan. Duan Liao was defeated and surrendered to Former Yan, thus ending the Duan's independent state.


Later history

While Duan Liao was killed for rebelling in 339, the Duan remained a prominent family within the Former Yan and their successors states of
Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and othe ...
, Western Yan and Southern Yan as maternal relatives due to a number of their women such as Duan Yuanfei and Duan Jifei marrying into the Murong family. Other Duan members fled to Later Zhao where they became generals, most notably Duan Lan and Duan Qin. During the collapse of the Later Zhao, Duan Lan's son,
Duan Kan Duan Kan () (died 357) was a Xianbei military general of the Later Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. In 350, taking advantage of the Later Zhao collapse, he occupied the Shandong, Shandong peninsula and declared himself the King of Qi. His s ...
, founded the short-lived Duan Qi state in
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
in 350, while Duan Qin declared himself the Emperor of Zhao in 352. However, both were eventually captured and executed by the Former Yan.


Chieftains of the Duan


Language

Shimunek classifies Duan as a "Serbi" (i.e.,
para-Mongolic Para-Mongolic is a proposed group of languages that is considered to be an extinct sister branch of the Mongolic languages. Para-Mongolic contains certain historically attested extinct languages, among them Khitan language, Khitan and Tuyuhun lang ...
) language. Shimunek's "Serbi" linguistic branch also includes Taghbach, Tuyuhun, and Khitan.


See also

*
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
* List of past Chinese ethnic groups *
Five Barbarians The Five Barbarians, or Wu Hu (), is a Chinese historical exonym for five ancient non- Han ''" Hu"'' peoples who immigrated to northern China in the Eastern Han dynasty, and then overthrew the Western Jin dynasty and established their own king ...
* Duan Qi


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duan Tribe Sixteen Kingdoms Xianbei Ethnic groups in Chinese history Tribes of Asia