Duan Zhengming

Biography

Installed by the Gao Clan

In 1081 (the fourth year of Yuanfeng under Emperor Shenzong of Song), the powerful ministers Gao Zhisheng and Gao Shengtai of Dali, using "heavenly portents" as a pretext, forced Emperor Shangming Duan Shouhui to abdicate and become a monk, and then installed Duan Zhengming as emperor. Though Duan Zhengming occupied the throne, real power remained in the hands of the Gao father and son.

Thirteen Years on the Throne

In the year after his accession Duan Zhengming adopted the era name Baoli (also written Baoding), later changing to Jian'an and Tianyou. During his reign the monarchy showed no vigor, and the hearts of the people gradually turned to the Gao clan.

Deposed and Made a Monk

In 1094 (the first year of Shaosheng under Emperor Zhezong of Song), the long-dominant Gao Shengtai deposed Duan Zhengming, forced him to abdicate and become a Buddhist monk, and proclaimed himself emperor, renaming the state the "Great Central Kingdom" (Da Zhongguo)—thus interrupting the Duan dynasty of Dali. After Gao Shengtai died two years into his reign, he instructed his son Gao Taiming on his deathbed to return power to the Duan clan, and in 1096 Duan Zhengming's younger brother Duan Zhengchun was installed as emperor, inaugurating what history calls the Later Dali Kingdom.

Major Activities

• Reigned thirteen years, installed and deposed by the Gao clan; his deposition and monastic vows marked Gao Shengtai's usurpation and the interruption of Duan rule

What can also be established are the era name and chronology: in 1082 he changed the era name to Baoding, also written Baoli, the first and last characters being given differently in the two sources, and its years of use and final year lack mutually corroborating material, so no exact dates of particular measures should be calculated from it; in 1094 Gao Shengthai forced his abdication and founded the Great China regime. In the Dali succession he stands between Duan Shouhui and Duan Zhengchun, and his abdication is treated by later histories as the first interruption of the Duan dynasty; his own economic, religious or military achievements, however, lack continuous material that can be cross-checked, and nothing is supplied where the sources are silent.

The sequence before and after his reign is also comparatively clear: after Duan Shouhui left the throne in 1081, Gao Zhisheng and his son raised Duan Zhengming, so that the Duan title continued in name through his reign; in 1094 Gao Shengthai made himself ruler and changed the name of the state to Great China, interrupting the Duan kingdom of Dali, and only two years later, when Gao Taiming returned power to Duan Zhengchun, was the Duan title restored.

Personal Relations

• Duan Shouhui: predecessor, after whose abdication Duan Zhengming was raised to the throne.
• Duan Lianyi and Duan Silian: father and grandfather respectively.
• Duan Zhengchun: younger brother, who came to the throne in 1096 when the Gao family returned power to the Duan house.
• Gao Zhisheng and Gao Shengthai: the Gao father and son who promoted his accession; Gao Shengthai later took his place on the throne.

Historical Assessment

Thirteen years on the throne showed 'no vigor, and men's hearts turned to the Gaos'; his deposition marked the full eclipse of Duan authority.