Duan Lian Yi

Biography

Succeeding Duan Silian

Duan Silian left the throne in 1075 (8th year of the Xining era, Northern Song) and Duan Lianyi succeeded him as king. Both encyclopedic accounts agree on the father-son relation; another account also records that his accession may have come a year earlier, and the text adopts 1075 from that account. The original page captured for another account mixed many cards of unrelated historical figures into its "related star chart", and that original has been isolated, with only the entry text on Duan Lianyi himself kept for factual checking; the kinship information in those cards is not adopted.

Envoys to the Song and Era Names

Both other accounts record that in 1076 (9th year of the Xining era, Northern Song) Duan Lianyi sent envoys to the Song court with gifts of swords, rhinoceros-hide armour and saddles and bridles. One account calls that year the first year of Shangde, while a further account records that in 1077 (10th year of the Xining era) the era name was changed again to Guang'an. Neither account explicitly rejects Guang'an, so the timeline marks the Guang'an record as peculiar to one account and does not misrepresent Shangde and Guang'an as two era names introduced at the same time.

Death in a Coup

In 1080 (3rd year of the Yuanfeng era, Northern Song) Yang Yizhen killed Duan Lianyi and briefly held power. The Gao father and son then put down Yang Yizhen and raised Duan Lianyi's nephew Duan Shouhui. Both encyclopedic accounts provide no verifiable date for the month and day of Duan Lianyi's murder, and none is calculated here.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Duan Lian Yi within the institutions and conflicts of Chinese history.

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

"Emperor Shangde" is a designation formed by later ages from his era name, not a contemporary temple name offered by either encyclopedic account. For Duan Lianyi the reliable continuous records are chiefly his accession, his embassy and his murder, and the material is not enough for a settled verdict on his personal capacity to govern. Yang Yizhen's coup and the Gao family's restoration of a Duan ruler are the key events for understanding the shifts of power in Dali during this period.