tribal confederation · China, Tibet and Mongolia
Duan Xianbei
Origins
The Duan traced their rise to Riluzhuan, a man sold as a slave to the Wuhuan who gathered a band of followers in the Liaoxi region. By the late 3rd century his descendants led a powerful Xianbei confederation based at Lingzhi, near modern Qian'an in Hebei, on the north-eastern frontier of the Western Jin.
Rule and society
The Duan were cavalry herders under hereditary chiefs who married into the family of the Jin governor Wang Jun and fought for him against Han Zhao. Their power depended on alliances and plunder. In 318 the chief Duan Pidi killed the loyalist Jin general Liu Kun, an act widely condemned.
Decline and legacy
Later Zhao, allied with the Murong of Former Yan, crushed the Duan at Lingzhi in 338. A remnant under Duan Kan ruled the area around Guanggu in Shandong until Former Yan conquered it in 356 to 357, after which the Duan merged with other Xianbei groups.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Duan Xianbei was a vassal of Western Jin303 CE – 316 CE
- Duan Xianbei was conquered by Former Yan357 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duan Xianbei. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duan-xianbei
- MLA
- “Duan Xianbei.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duan-xianbei. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duan Xianbei.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duan-xianbei.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duan Xianbei’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duan-xianbei (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻