A famous military strategist during the Warring States period. His exact birth and death dates are unknown, and his real name has been lost to history. He was active around the second half of the 4th century BC, a native of the State of Qi (modern-day Juancheng County, Shandong Province), and a descendant of Sun Wu, the renowned general of the State of Wu. It is said that in his youth, Sun Bin studied under the famed hermit Guiguzi alongside Pang Juan. Pang Juan served as a general for King Hui of Wei. Jealous of Sun Bin's talents, he lured Sun Bin to the State of Wei and had him subjected to the "bin" punishment (removal of the kneecaps), which is how Sun Bin got his name. Later, he was secretly brought back to Qi by a Qi envoy. Recommended by General Tian Ji, he was highly valued by King Wei of Qi and appointed as his military advisor. In the decisive battles of Guiling and Maling—crucial confrontations in the rivalry between Qi and Wei—Sun Bin commanded the Qi army to defeat the Wei forces twice, forcing Pang Juan to commit suicide and establishing Qi as one of the dominant powers. In battle, he applied the principles of avoiding strength and striking weakness, attacking where the enemy must defend, creating the famous tactic of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao," which has been emulated by military strategists throughout history. The book *Sun Bin's Art of War*, written by Sun Bin and his disciples, inherited Sun Wu's military philosophy, summarized warfare experience before the mid-Warring States period, possessed distinct characteristics of its time, and left behind a valuable legacy of military theory for future generations.
King Hui of Wei also followed the example of Duke Xiao of Qin, seeking a talent like Shang Yang. He spent considerable wealth to attract heroes from across the land. Pang Juan came to meet him, presenting ideas on enriching the state and strengthening the military. King Hui was delighted and appointed Pang Juan as his supreme general. Pang Juan indeed had some ability. He drilled his troops daily, first targeting nearby small states and winning several consecutive victories. Eventually, he even defeated the powerful state of Qi. From then on, King Hui trusted Pang Juan even more. Pang Juan began to see himself as an extraordinary genius. However, he knew of a classmate, Sun Bin of Qi, whose abilities surpassed his own. It was said that Sun Bin was a descendant of Sun Wu, the great general of Wu, and the only person who knew the family's secret copy of *The Art of War*.
King Hui of Wei also heard of Sun Bin’s reputation and once mentioned him to Pang Juan. Pang Juan sent someone to invite Sun Bin to come serve in Wei alongside him. Little did Sun Bin know that Pang Juan harbored ill intentions and secretly slandered him before King Hui, accusing Sun Bin of spying for Qi. Enraged, King Hui sentenced Sun Bin, branding his face with characters and removing both of his kneecaps. Fortunately, an envoy from Qi happened to be visiting Wei and secretly rescued Sun Bin, bringing him back to Qi. Tian Ji, a prominent general of Qi, heard that Sun Bin was a gifted commander and recommended him to King Wei of Qi. At the time, King Wei was striving for reform and national strength. After discussing military strategy with Sun Bin, he greatly admired him, regretting only that they hadn’t met sooner.
In 354 BC, King Hui of Wei dispatched Pang Juan to attack the State of Zhao, besieging its capital Handan (southwest of modern-day Handan, Hebei). The following year, Zhao appealed to King Wei of Qi for help. King Wei wanted to appoint Sun Bin as the supreme commander, but Sun Bin quickly declined: “No, Your Majesty. I am a disabled man who has suffered punishment. If I become a general, it will bring ridicule. Please appoint Minister Tian instead.” Thus, King Wei appointed Tian Ji as general and Sun Bin as military advisor, sending their army to relieve Zhao. Sun Bin directed operations from a covered chariot, advising Tian Ji. He said: “Right now, Wei has committed its elite forces to attacking Zhao, leaving its homeland weak and filled mostly with elderly and unfit soldiers. We should march directly on Wei’s capital, Daliang. When Pang Juan hears this, he will have to abandon Handan and rush back to defend his country. We can lie in wait along the way and ambush him decisively—that will surely lead to victory.” Tian Ji followed this plan. After capturing Handan, Pang Juan suddenly learned that Qi was attacking Daliang and immediately ordered a retreat. Just as his army reached Guiling (northwest of modern-day Changyuan, Henan), they encountered the Qi forces. In the ensuing battle, Pang Juan was soundly defeated. The Qi army returned victorious, and the siege of Handan was lifted.
In 341 BC, Wei again sent troops to attack Han. Han also appealed to Qi for aid. By this time, King Wei of Qi had died, and his son, King Xuan of Qi, sent Tian Ji and Sun Bin to lead the relief effort. Sun Bin once again used his old tactic—not rushing to save Han, but directly attacking Wei. Upon receiving urgent messages from home, Pang Juan had no choice but to withdraw his forces and race back. By the time they returned, Qi’s army had already entered Wei territory. Wei mobilized a large army led by Crown Prince Shen to resist the Qi invasion. Meanwhile, the Qi army began retreating. Pang Juan inspected the sites where the Qi army had camped and found that their encampments were vast. He ordered men to count the cooking stoves and found enough for 100,000 soldiers. Pang Juan was terrified and speechless. The next day, when he reached the site of the Qi army’s second camp, he counted the stoves again and found enough for only 50,000. On the third day, at the third campsite, after careful counting, he found stoves sufficient for only 20,000 soldiers. Now Pang Juan felt relieved and laughed, saying: “I always knew Qi soldiers were cowards. A 100,000-strong army entering Wei would lose more than half within just three days!” He then ordered his troops to pursue the Qi army relentlessly, day and night, along the same route. They chased all the way to Malingshan (southeast of modern-day Daming County, Hebei), arriving as dusk approached. The Malingshan pass was extremely narrow, with obstacles lining both sides of the road. Eager to catch up, Pang Juan ordered his troops to press forward in the dark. Suddenly, scouts rushed back reporting: “The road ahead is blocked by logs!” Pang Juan went forward to investigate and saw that all the trees beside the path had been felled, except one large tree. Looking closely, he noticed that one side of the trunk had been stripped of bark, revealing pale wood underneath, faintly inscribed with large characters—too dim to read clearly. Pang Juan ordered torches. Several soldiers lit them, and by the firelight, they could clearly see the words: “Pang Juan dies beneath this tree.” Horrified, Pang Juan immediately ordered a retreat—but it was too late. Arrows rained down from all sides like swarms of locusts, piercing the Wei troops. Instantly, the cries of battle echoed through the Malingshan pass; everywhere were hidden soldiers of Qi. This was Sun Bin’s trap: he had deliberately reduced the number of stoves each day to lure Pang Juan into pursuit. Calculating precisely that the Wei army would arrive at Malingshan at this hour, he had pre-positioned archers with orders to release their arrows the moment they saw firelight beneath the tree. With no escape, Pang Juan drew his sword and took his own life. The Qi army pressed their advantage, crushing the Wei forces and capturing Crown Prince Shen of Wei.
After this, Sun Bin’s fame spread throughout all the warring states. His work, *Sun Bin’s Art of War*, is believed to have been lost by the end of the Eastern Han dynasty.