[1][2] Duke Dao came from a cadet branch of the House of Ji that ruled Jin.
His father was named Tan, and the family had been exiled at the court of Zhou for three generations.
In 573 BC Duke Li struck the Xi clan and killed the three Xis.
However, two other clans, the Luan (欒氏) led by Luan Shu (欒書), and the Zhonghang (中行氏) led by Zhonghang Yan (中行偃), staged a coup d'etat and imprisoned Duke Li.
[1][2] Duke Dao adopted the policies advocated by his prime minister Wei Jiang (魏絳) and made peace with the Rong and Di tribes on Jin's northern and western borders.