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 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 ...

-led Chinese Southern Yan dynasty. Her husband was the founding emperor

Murong De Murong De (; 336–405), name changed in 400 to Murong Beide (慕容備德), courtesy name Xuanming (玄明), formally Emperor Xianwu of (Southern) Yan ((南)燕獻武帝), was the founding emperor of the Xianbei-led Southern Yan dynasty of Chin ...

(Emperor Xianwu). Her given name is lost to history, but her

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Jifei was recorded and used by historians. Her father was Duan Yi (段儀). Duan Jifei's older sister

Duan Yuanfei Duan Yuanfei (段元妃) (died 396), formally Empress Cheng'ai (成哀皇后, literally "the successful and lamentable empress"), was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Later Yan dynasty. Her husband was the state's founding emperor, Murong C ...

was the empress of Murong De's older brother,

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326–396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), formally Emperor Chengwu of (Later) Yan ((後)燕成武帝) was a great general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Former Yan dynasty who later became the foundi ...

, the founding emperor 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, located in modern-day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. All rulers of the Later Yan declared them ...

. 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 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 Murong Chao (; 385–410), courtesy name Zuming (祖明), was the last emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Southern Yan dynasty. He was the nephew of the founding emperor Murong De (Emperor Xianwu) who was trapped under the rule of Later Qin, but ...

, 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 back from

Later Qin The Later Qin (; 384–417), also known as Yao Qin (), was a state ruled by the Qiang ethnicity of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty (266–420) in China. The Later Qin is entirely distinct from the Qin dynasty, the Former Qin and the We ...

, 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 ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'' 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 opined that referred to Later Yan's Empress Dowager Duan.'' Bo Yang Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 28 07)

Notes and references

* ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'', vol. 96. * ''

'', vols.

108 108 may refer to: * 108 (number) * AD 108, a year * 108 BC, a year * 108 (artist) (born 1978), Italian street artist * 108 (band), an American hardcore band * 108 (emergency telephone number), an emergency telephone number in several states in Ind ...

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