Duan was a warlord/politician in the Beiyang Army and also the provisional Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Peking), from 1924-1926. He was arguably the most powerful man in China from 1916-1920. Duan was an avid player of weiqi (Go) and always excelled, as his opponents feared defeating him, with the exception of his own son, who was unafraid of defeating his father. He became a devoted Buddhist, praying regularly and as a result, became a vegetarian. Duan however retained a hen farm to provide him with eggs, but kept no roosters, as he claimed that without fertilization, the eggs remained pure and unsoiled in keeping with his vegetarian strictures.