Duan Su Lian

Biography

Accession and Change of Era Name

Duan Sulian was a son of Duan Suying. The main texts of both sources record that his father died in 1009 and that he became the seventh ruler of Dali, changing the era name to Mingqi the following year. The introduction of one account gives "reigned 1010 to 1022", which does not agree at its start with the main text of the same account, where 1009 is the accession; the entry adopts 1009 as the year of accession, supported by both accounts, and treats 1010 as the first year of the era name.

Fighting Abroad and Succession

A further Chinese account records that in 1014 (during the Mingqi era of Dali) Duan Sulian sent troops against Jiaozhou and was defeated, with no corresponding record in another account, so it is kept as a single-source record. Duan Sulian died in 1022. One account says that his son had died earlier and that his grandson Duan Suzhen was young, so his nephew Duan Sulong succeeded; another account also records that Duan Sulong succeeded. The grandfather-grandson relation between Duan Sulian and Duan Suzhen remains disputed in later genealogical material, and the name or birth date of his unrecorded son cannot be calculated from it.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Duan Su Lian within the institutions and conflicts of Ming.

Source-based record

Personal Relations

• Relationships are recorded from the cached source text and should be read together with the related entries listed below.

Historical Assessment

The summary of one account says that Duan Sulian "did nothing" during his reign, while another praises him and his son for "comparatively clean government" and "achievement". These two appraisals lack the supporting details of policy and conflict with each other, so the entry adopts neither absolute praise nor blame. What can be confirmed is his comparatively long reign, the single-source record of the fighting at Jiaozhou and the fact that he was succeeded by his nephew.