Duan Siping

Duan Siping, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Dali, was the founder and first emperor of the Dali Kingdom. The Dali Kingdom would last until the Mongol [invasion of China#Conquest of Yunnan|Mongol conquest] in 1253 led by Kublai Khan and its territories would later be ruled by the Yuan dynasty.

Biography

Duan Siping was a member of the Bai ethnic group. The Duan clan is professed to also have Han ancestry. The Dian zaiji records that Duan's ancestor was from Wuwei and, having assisted the Meng clan in battle, was awarded with political rank. However, "his descendant six generations later, Siping, was born under different omens."
Duan was a governor of Tonghai County. Yang Ganzhen, ruler of the Dayining kingdom, feared him and attempted to imprison. Duan went into hiding and gathered soldiers and horses to fight. Allegedly, Duan was eating a wild peach, when he noticed two characters written on the fruit's skin: qing xi 青昔. Duan determined that the first character, qing, referred to the twelfth month, whilst the second, xi, indicated the twenty-first day. He understood this as an omen of when he should attack Great Yining.