Sun Bin (died 316 BC) was a Chinese general,

military strategist A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and writer who lived during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

. A supposed descendant of

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

, Sun was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He was accused of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

while serving in the Wei state and was sentenced to face-tattooing (criminal branding) and had his kneecaps removed (trad. 臏, sim. 膑, pinyin: ''bìn''), permanently crippling him. Sun escaped from Wei later and rose to prominence in the Qi state, by serving as a military strategist and commander. He led Qi to victory against the Wei state at the Battle of Guiling and

Battle of Maling The Battle of Maling () took place in Maling, currently Dazhangjia Town (), Shen County (), Henan Province, in 342 BC during the Warring States period (476–221 BC). The combatants were the State of Qi, who fought on behalf of the State of ...

. Sun authored the military treatise '' Sun Bin's Art of War'', which was rediscovered in a 1972

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

after being lost for almost 2000 years.

Life

Early life

An alleged descendant of

, Sun Bin was recognized for his brilliance at an early age, while he was still studying

military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow ...

under the tutelage of the hermit Guiguzi. He could recite ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'', which made Guiguzi remark that all his other students should look up to Sun Bin as a role model. Pang Juan, a fellow student of Guiguzi, became

sworn brother Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...

s with Sun. Pang left early and went to serve the Wei state as a military general, making his name after scoring victories in a few battles. Sun Bin, who was still studying with their teacher then, was invited to enter the service of Wei and he became Pang's colleague. However, Pang was secretly jealous of Sun, because he perceived that Sun Bin was more talented, and had learnt more about military strategy from their teacher than him.

Mutilation

Pang Juan framed Sun Bin for

and reported him to King Hui of Wei, who ordered Sun Bin to be executed. Pang pretended to plead for mercy on Sun's behalf, and the king instead condemned Sun to face-tattooing and removal of the kneecaps, effectively branding Sun as a criminal and crippling him for life. Pang pretended to take pity on Sun and treated him well while trying to trick Sun into compiling his knowledge on military strategy into a book, after which Pang could kill him. Sun eventually realized Pang's true intentions and feigned

madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

. Pang attempted to test whether Sun had really become insane or not, so he had Sun locked up in a pigsty. Sun appeared to enjoy himself there and even consumed animal

faeces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

, calling them delicious. Pang believed that Sun was truly mad and lowered his guard. Sun later escaped from the Wei state with the help of diplomats from the Qi state.

Service in Qi

In the Qi state, Sun Bin became a retainer (guest) in the residence of

Tian Ji Tian Ji (), courtesy name Qi (齐), was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period (4th century BC) of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji co ...

, a military general. Once, King Wei of Qi invited Tian Ji to a horse racing competition. Sun Bin suggested a strategy to Tian Ji to utilize his horses to best advantage, and Tian won two out of three rounds in the race. The king was impressed with Tian's victory. Tian admitted that he won with the help of Sun Bin, and recommended Sun's talents to the king. King Wei wanted to appoint Sun Bin as the commander of the Qi armies. Sun declined, as his handicap prevented him from riding horseback, and would have a negative effect on the morale of soldiers. Sun was then appointed chief military advisor instead and served as Tian Ji's deputy. In 354 BC, Wei state attacked the Zhao state, with Pang Juan leading the Wei army. They besieged the Zhao capital city of

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shan ...

. Zhao requested help from Qi, and the king of Qi commissioned Sun Bin and Tian Ji to lead an army to help Zhao. Sun Bin proposed the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" and the Qi army attacked the Wei capital city of Daliang (present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

), forcing the Wei army to turn back to save the city and effectively lifting the siege on Handan. The Wei army was ambushed and defeated by the Qi forces at the Battle of Guiling. In 342 BC, the Wei army led by Pang Juan invaded the Han state, an ally of the Qi state, and Han requested help from Qi. Sun Bin and Tian Ji were put in charge of the Qi army again to counter the Wei forces. Sun used a strategy of feigning defeat in a series of skirmishes with the Wei forces, in order to lure Pang Juan to pursue him. Sun ordered the Qi troops to reduce the number of cooking stoves they used, creating the false impression that the Qi army was shrinking in size. The pursuing Wei forces led by Pang Juan spotted the trend by observing the marks left behind by the stoves, and Pang fell for Sun Bin's ruse. Eager to defeat Sun Bin, Pang continued the pursuit and fell into an ambush in a narrow valley laid by the Qi forces. The Wei army suffered a crushing defeat at the

, and the crown prince of Wei was captured by the Qi forces. In traditional folklore, Sun Bin carved the words "Pang Juan dies under this tree" on a tree in the ambush area. When Pang arrived there, he saw that there were carvings on a tree, so he lit a torch for a closer look. Using the torch as the target, the Qi troops lying in ambush attacked. Pang committed suicide after being hit by many enemy arrows. Sun Bin retired from service because of political entanglement in the court and led a reclusive life as a hermit in the later part of his life.

Works

''Sun Bin's Art of War'' () is a military treatise authored by Sun Bin. The book was believed to be lost after the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, and although there were numerous references to it in post-contemporary texts, some historians still believed that the book was never written and could be a forgery. However, in April 1972, archaeologists excavated several fragments of scrolls from a tomb in

Linyi Linyi () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo t ...

, Shandong province. ''Sun Bin's Art of War'' was found among the scrolls. Although ancient texts mention that the original ''Sun Bin's Art of War'' was 89 chapters long, the rediscovered copy had 16 verifiable chapters only. As fragments of

's ''

'' were discovered as well, historians believed that some of the chapters might belong to ''The Art of War'' instead. The newly discovered text provided historians with a different perspective on the Battle of Guiling and

. In addition, when compared to Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War'', ''Sun Bin's Art of War'' contained one major difference from the former. The former advised against

siege warfare A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

, while the latter suggested tactics for attacking a besieged city. This paralleled a shift in the strategic consideration of siege warfare during the later stages of the

Legacy

Sun Bin sometimes appears as a

Menshen Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the ...

(door god) in Chinese and

Taoist temple A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism. Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist school the temple belongs to. For example, ''guà ...

s, usually paired with Pang Juan. His rivalry with Pang Juan is portrayed in the 2011 film '' The Warring States''. Sun Bin is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI'' by

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

References

* The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. Sawyer, Ralph D. * Sun Pin: The Art of Warfare. Lau, D. C. and

Ames, Roger T. Roger T. Ames (born 12 December 1947) is a Canadian-born philosopher, translator, and author. He is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University in Beijing, China, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, an ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Bin 316 BC deaths Ancient Chinese military writers Chinese amputees Chinese gods Deified Chinese people Generals from Shandong Military strategists Qi (state) Sun Tzu Wei (state) Writers from Shandong Year of birth unknown Zhou dynasty generals Zhou dynasty writers