Duan Qi was a kingdom located in

Shandong peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. G ...

of northern China during the

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 by ...

period. It was founded by

Duan Kan Duan may refer to: * Duan (surname), a Chinese surname ** Duan dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Dali Kingdom * Duan tribe, pre-state tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China * Duan language, spoken on the Laotian–Vietnamese border * D ...

, a member from the

Duan tribe The Duan () was a pre-state tribe of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. History The reason the tribe adopted the Han Chinese surname Duan is unknown. Duan Wuwuchen was given in 303 a hereditary title— the "Duke o ...

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

people. In 350,

Ran Min Ran Min (; died 352), also known as Shi Min (石閔), posthumously honored by the Former Yan as Heavenly King Wudao of (Ran) Wei ((冉)魏武悼天王), courtesy name Yongzeng (永曾), nickname Jinu (棘奴), was a military leader during the er ...

overthrew the

Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...

kingdom and caused chaos in the

North China Plain The North China Plain or Huang-Huai-Hai Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bord ...

. Duan Kan took this chance to lead his people to the city of Guanggu in Shandong and established Duan Qi kingdom. Duan Kan did not claim to be an emperor because he regarded the emperor of Jin dynasty as the son of heaven. In 351, Duan Qi became a vassal state of Jin dynasty after the emperor of Jin appointed Duan Kan to be the Zhenbei General and Duke of Qi. However, Duan Qi was still considered to be an independent state since Jin had no direct control on it. In 355,

Murong Jun Murong Jun (; 319–360), courtesy name Xuanying (宣英), formally Emperor Jingzhao of (Former) Yan ((前)燕景昭帝), was an emperor of the Former Yan. He was the dynasty's second ruler, but after first using the Jin dynasty-created title of ...

, a person from another tribal clan of

, claimed to be the emperor of

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

. Duan Kan was annoyed because he did not think anyone from a Xianbei tribe should claim to be an emperor. He wrote a letter to denounce Murong Jun, which exasperated

. In 356, a war broke out between Former Yan and Duan Qi, and Duan Qi was defeated in the war. Duan Kan asked for help from Jin, but it was too late. He was captured by Murong Jun and was executed in the following year.Zizhi Tongjian, Chapter 99：''镇北将军段龛与燕主俊书，抗中表之仪，非其称帝。俊怒，十一月，以太原王恪为大都督、抚军将军，阳鹜副之，以击龛。''

References

350 establishments Former countries in Chinese history Duan tribe {{China-hist-stub

See also

References