Duan Siping


Duan Siping was a statesman who founded and became the First Emperor of the Kingdom of Dali in 937. The Kingdom retained independence from unified China until the Mongol invasion in 1253 led by Kublai Khan.

Biography

The Duan family claimed descent from a Han Chinese family originating in Gansu province, however it is widely accepted that Duan Siping was a member of the Bai ethnic group. The Dian zaiji records that Duan's ancestor was from Wuwei and, having assisted the Meng clan in battle, was awarded with political rank. However, "his descendant six generations later, Siping, was born under different omens."
Duan was a governor of Tonghai County. Yang Ganzhen, ruler of the :zh:大義寧|Great Yining kingdom, feared him and attempted to imprison him. Duan went into hiding and gathered soldiers and horses to fight. Allegedly, Duan was eating a wild peach, when he noticed two characters written on the fruit's skin: qing xi 青昔. Duan determined that the first character, qing, referred to the twelfth month, whilst the second, xi, indicated the twenty-first day. He understood this as an omen of when he should attack Great Yining.

Works cited