Duan tribe

The Duan (Chinese: 段; pinyin: Duàn) was a pre-state tribe of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. The reason the tribe adopted the Han Chinese surname Duan is unknown. Duan Wuwuchen was given in 303 a hereditary title— the "Duke of Liaoxi" —by the Jin Dynasty. Even after their tribe was defeated and absorbed by Former Yan, the Duan clan remained honored and powerful, and several Former Yan and Later Yan empresses, as well as important officials, were members of the Duan clan.