Pang Juan facts for kids

Pang Juan (died 342 BC) was a famous military general from the Wei state in ancient China. He lived during a time called the Warring States period, when many different states were fighting for power.

Pang Juan's Life Story

Early Days and Learning

Pang Juan was once a student alongside another famous strategist named Sun Bin. They both learned about military strategy from a wise hermit teacher called Guiguzi. They became very close friends, like sworn brothers, while studying in the mountains.

Pang Juan left their teacher when he heard that King Hui of Wei was looking for talented people to help him. Pang impressed the king with his ideas to make the Wei state stronger. He bravely said he could help Wei conquer the other big states. The king was pleased and made Pang Juan a top military general. He put Pang in charge of all of Wei's armies. Pang led the Wei armies to win many battles against smaller states like Song, Lu, and Zheng. He became a very respected person in Wei.

Rivalry with Sun Bin

Later, Pang Juan invited Sun Bin to join him in serving the Wei state. However, Pang was secretly jealous of Sun. He felt that Sun had learned more from their teacher than he had.

Pang Juan later tricked Sun Bin and made him look bad to King Hui. The king believed Pang and was very angry. He ordered Sun Bin to be punished severely. Pang pretended to ask the king to be kind to Sun, and the king agreed to spare Sun's life. But Sun was given a very harsh punishment that left him unable to walk well. Pang pretended to feel sorry for Sun. He tried to trick Sun into writing down all his knowledge about military strategy in a book, planning to get rid of him later. But some servants told Sun Bin the truth. Sun Bin then realized Pang's real plans and pretended to be crazy. With help from officials from the Qi state, Sun escaped from Wei. He later became an important strategist and leader in the Qi state.

Big Battles and Defeat

Map showing the situation during the Battle of Maling

After Sun Bin escaped, a big struggle began between Pang Juan and Sun Bin. Each of them led their state's armies to fight against the other.

Pang Juan led the Wei army to attack the Zhao state. Zhao asked the Qi state for help. Sun Bin led the Qi army with Tian Ji. Sun suggested a clever plan: "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao." This meant attacking Wei's capital to make Pang Juan turn back and save his own state, which would lift the attack on Zhao. At the Battle of Guiling, Pang Juan's forces were defeated in a surprise attack by Sun Bin's army.

Later, Pang led the Wei army to attack the Han state. Sun Bin again led the Qi forces to invade Wei to save Han. Sun used another smart plan. He made his army seem like they were losing and shrinking in size to trick Pang Juan. Pang fell for the trick and chased after Sun's army. He thought the Qi army was getting smaller and smaller. Pang was eager to defeat Sun Bin. He led a fast cavalry unit to chase them, but he rode right into a trap set by the Qi army in a narrow valley at the Battle of Maling. The Wei army suffered a huge defeat. The Wei crown prince was captured by Qi forces, and Pang Juan was defeated and died.

In old stories, it's said that Sun Bin carved the words "Pang Juan dies under this tree" on a tree where the ambush happened. When Pang and his men arrived, he saw carvings on the tree. He lit a torch to see them better. At that moment, the Qi troops hiding in ambush attacked, and Pang Juan died under that very tree.

Pang Juan's Legacy

Sometimes, Pang Juan is shown as a door god in Chinese and Taoist temples. He is usually seen together with Sun Bin.