Duan Jifei () was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the Xianbei-led Chinese Southern Yan dynasty. Her husband was the founding emperor Murong De (Emperor Xianwu). Her given name is lost to history, but her courtesy name Jifei was recorded and used by historians. Her father was Duan Yi (段儀). Duan Jifei's older sister Duan Yuanfei was the empress of Murong De's older brother, Murong Chui, the founding emperor of Later Yan. She married Murong De in or slightly before 388, when he was the Prince of Fanyang. They did not have any sons. In 398, Murong De, displeased at how Murong Chui's son and successor

Murong Bao Murong Bao (; 355–398), courtesy name Daoyou (道佑), Xianbei name Kugou (庫勾), formally Emperor Huimin of (Later) Yan ((後)燕惠愍帝), temple name Liezong (烈宗) or Liezu (烈祖), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Later Yan ...

had, through incompetence, lost most of the Later Yan territory, declared himself the Prince of Yan and established the separate Southern Yan state. In 400, he declared himself emperor and created Duan Jifei empress. After Murong De died in 405 and was succeeded by his nephew Murong Chao, she became

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

, but in 406 became embroiled in a plot with Murong Zhong (慕容鍾) the Prince of Beidi and the generals Murong Fa (慕容法) and Duan Hong (段宏) to overthrow Murong Chao, but after one of the coconspirators, Feng Song (封嵩) was arrested, she became fearful and revealed the entire plot to Murong Chao, who then defeated the coup attempt. The 406 plot was the last reference to Empress Dowager Duan in history. In 408, after Murong Chao ransomed his mother

Lady Duan The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

back from Later Qin, he honored his mother as empress dowager, implying that Empress Dowager Duan Jifei might not be still alive at that point, or was deprived of her empress dowager title. (There was a reference in the '' Zizhi Tongjian'' that stated, "Empress Dowager Duan of Yan's title was removed, and she went to reside in a different palace"; the modern Chinese historian

Bo Yang Bo Yang (; 7 March 1920 – 29 April 2008), sometimes also erroneously called Bai Yang, was a Chinese historian, novelist, philosopher, poet, and politician based in Taiwan. He is also regarded as a social critic. According to his own memoir, t ...

opined that referred to Later Yan's Empress Dowager Duan.''

Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 28 07)

Notes and references

* '' Book of Jin'', vol. 96. * '' Zizhi Tongjian'', vols.

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. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duan, Jifei 4th-century births 5th-century deaths Southern Yan empresses Later Yan people 5th-century Chinese women 5th-century Chinese people