The first historical reference to Duan Ye was in 388, when he was one of the officials under the ruler of Later Liang, Lü Guang, then carrying the title the Duke of Jiuquan. At a feast, Lü Guang and his officials were discussing his administration, when Duan Ye told Lü Guang that he was being overly harsh in his application of laws. Lü Guang, citing the examples of the legalists Wu Qi and Shang Yang, defended his harsh applications. Instead of backing down, Duan Ye pointed out that Wu and Shang both died as a result of their use of laws, and that what Lü Guang was doing was not in accordance of the wishes of the people. Lü Guang solemnly apologized. (However, what this conversation revealed about Duan Ye's own personal philosophy on governance may demonstrate the reasons why he was later ineffective as a ruler.)