Sun Bin facts for kids
Sun Bin (died 316 BC) was a smart Chinese general, military planner, and writer. He lived during a time in Chinese history called the Warring States period. People believed he was a descendant of Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War. Sun Bin learned military strategies from a wise hermit named Guiguzi.
Sadly, a fellow student named Pang Juan accused Sun Bin of a crime while they both worked for the Wei state. Sun Bin was badly hurt and could no longer walk properly. He later escaped from Wei and became very important in the Qi state. He served as a military planner and leader. Sun Bin led Qi to big wins against the Wei state at the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling. In these battles, he defeated Pang Juan, which helped him get revenge. Sun Bin also wrote a famous book about war called Sun Bin's Art of War. This book was lost for almost 2000 years but was found again in 1972 by archaeologists.
Life Story
Early Years
Sun Bin was thought to be related to Sun Tzu, a famous military writer. Even when he was young, Sun Bin was known for being very smart. He studied military plans with a wise teacher named Guiguzi. Sun Bin could remember The Art of War by heart. Because of this, Guiguzi told his other students to look up to Sun Bin.
Pang Juan was another student of Guiguzi. He and Sun Bin became close friends. Pang Juan left school early to become a general for the Wei state. He became famous after winning some battles. Sun Bin was still studying when he was asked to join the Wei state army too. He became Pang Juan's helper. However, Pang Juan was secretly jealous of Sun Bin. He felt that Sun Bin was more talented and had learned more about war from their teacher.
Serving the Qi State
After his troubles in Wei, Sun Bin went to the Qi state. He became a guest advisor to Tian Ji, a military general. One day, King Wei of Qi invited Tian Ji to a horse racing contest. Sun Bin gave Tian Ji a clever plan to use his horses. Tian Ji won two out of three races. The king was very impressed. Tian Ji told the king that Sun Bin had helped him win. He then told the king how talented Sun Bin was.
King Wei wanted Sun Bin to lead the Qi armies. But Sun Bin said no because his injury made it hard for him to ride horses. He thought this would make the soldiers feel less confident. So, Sun Bin became the chief military advisor instead. He worked as Tian Ji's helper.
In 354 BC, the Wei state attacked the Zhao state. Pang Juan led the Wei army and surrounded the Zhao capital city of Handan. Zhao asked Qi for help. The king of Qi sent Sun Bin and Tian Ji to lead an army to help Zhao. Sun Bin came up with a plan called "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao." This meant the Qi army attacked the Wei capital city of Daliang. This forced the Wei army to turn back to save their own city. This plan successfully stopped the attack on Handan. The Wei army was then surprised and defeated by the Qi forces at the Battle of Guiling.
In 342 BC, the Wei army, led by Pang Juan, attacked the Han state. Han was a friend of the Qi state, so Han asked Qi for help. Sun Bin and Tian Ji were again put in charge of the Qi army. Sun Bin used a trick: he pretended that the Qi army was losing in small fights with the Wei forces. This made Pang Juan want to chase them. Sun Bin told the Qi soldiers to use fewer cooking stoves each day. This made it look like the Qi army was getting smaller. Pang Juan and his Wei forces saw this and believed Sun Bin's trick.
Pang Juan was eager to defeat Sun Bin. He kept chasing the Qi army. But he fell into a trap in a narrow valley set by the Qi forces. The Wei army was completely defeated at the Battle of Maling. The prince of Wei was captured by the Qi forces. Pang Juan was hit by many enemy arrows and took his own life.
After these events, Sun Bin decided to live a quiet life. He retired from his duties because of problems with politics in the court.
His Writings
Sun Bin's Art of War (孫臏兵法) is a book about military strategy written by Sun Bin. People thought this book was lost after the Han dynasty. Even though other old writings mentioned it, some historians wondered if the book was ever really written. However, in April 1972, archaeologists found parts of scrolls in a tomb. Sun Bin's Art of War was among these scrolls!
Old texts said the original book had 89 chapters. But the rediscovered copy only had 16 chapters that could be confirmed. Parts of Sun Tzu's The Art of War were also found. So, historians thought some chapters might belong to Sun Tzu's book instead.
The newly found text gave historians new ideas about the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling. Also, when compared to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Sun Bin's book had a big difference. Sun Tzu's book advised against attacking cities that were surrounded. But Sun Bin's book suggested ways to attack a city that was under siege. This showed a change in how people thought about attacking surrounded cities during the later Warring States period.
What He Left Behind
Sun Bin sometimes appears as a Menshen (door god) in Chinese and Taoist temples. He is usually shown with Pang Juan.
His rivalry with Pang Juan is shown in the 2011 movie The Warring States.
Sun Bin is also one of the 32 special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.
See also
