Information about Sun Bin
Sun Bin was a native of Qi State (now northeast of Yanggu County, Shandong Province) during the Warring States Period. The dates of birth and death are unknown, but he was active between 380 BC and 320 BC, probably after Wu Qi and at the same time as Shang Yang and Meng Ke.
Sun Bin is a descendant of Sun Wu, a famous military strategist of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period. Sima Qian said: "Since Sun Wu died, Sun Bin was born more than a hundred years later. ... Bin is also the descendant of Sun Wu." As a general, and living in an environment of war and disputes, Sun Bin made up his mind to dedicate himself to the military career very early. .
In his early years, Sun Bin and Pang Juan studied the art of war under Gui Guzi. He studied diligently, studied hard, and was talented and intelligent. He quickly acquired a wealth of military knowledge. He showed superhuman military talent before he was born, which aroused the jealousy of Pang Juan, who was studying with him.
Later, Pang Juan was hired by King Hui of Wei to serve as a general and military advisor of the Wei state. Although he was proud of his success, he felt deeply uneasy when he thought about Sun Bin, who was just above him. Therefore, Pang Juan secretly sent someone to invite Sun Bin to the state of Wei, pretending to recommend him to King Hui of Wei, but actually trying to harm him. Sun Bin arrived in Wei and became a guest with no name or power. At this time, Pang Juan stepped up his conspiracy to frame Sun Bin. He first sent someone to pretend to be entrusted by Sun Bin's cousin to persuade Sun Bin to return to Qi. After deceiving Sun Bin's written reply, he altered it, and then falsely accused Sun Bin of having liaison with Qi State to the King of Wei. The king of Wei was furious and ordered Sun Bin to be executed. In order to steal Sun Bin's art of war works, Pang Juan pretended to plead with the King of Wei in front of Sun Bin. As a result, "his legs were cut off and tattooed." Later, Sun Bin learned the inside story from an envoy, and suddenly realized it. He burned the bamboo slips on the art of war that he was writing for Pang Juan, pretended to be crazy, and looked for opportunities to escape from the tiger's mouth.
One day, Chun Yukun, a senior official of Qi State, went on a mission to Wei State. Sun Bin managed to meet him secretly and told him his tragic experience in Wei. Chunyu Kun knew that Sun Bin was a talented man, so he secretly hid him in a car and took him back to Qi. This changed Sun Bin's misfortune.
Sun Bin returned to Qi and lived in seclusion under the tent of Qi general Tian Ji. Tian Ji found that he was proficient in the art of war and resourceful, so he valued him very much. At that time, the king of Qi, King Wei, was very fond of horse racing. He often bet on horse racing with the nobles, and the bets were very large. Tian Ji also raised many good horses at home, but he always lost every time he competed. Once, Sun Bin went to watch horse racing. He saw that although Tian Ji lost every game, the difference between the two sides was not too big. So, he said to Tian Ji: "Next time when there is a horse race, just place a big bet. I will find a way for you to win." When the next horse race came, Tian Ji placed a big bet of three thousand taels of gold. Bet a thousand taels. Before the race, Sun Bin taught Tian Ji: "This time you will race your low-grade horses against the King of Qi's high-grade horses, your high-grade horses against the King of Qi's medium-grade horses, and your medium-grade horses against the King of Qi's inferior horses. You can win." After three games, Tian Ji defeated King Qi with two wins and one loss. When Tian Ji told King Wei the reason for his victory, King Wei immediately summoned Sun Bin. King Wei of Qi discussed the art of war with Sun Bin, and Sun Bin really spoke eloquently and answered fluently. So King Wei appointed him as Qi's military advisor.
Sun Bin became Qi's military advisor, and his ambition and talents were fully utilized. The first battle in which he showed his prowess was the Battle of Guiling.
In the early years of the Warring States Period, Wei Wenhou appointed Li Kui to implement reforms and enrich the country and strengthen its army. He was the first to use his reform methods among the vassal states, so he was the first to dominate the Central Plains. At that time, Qi and Zhao were also two larger countries, and they were unwilling to look up to Wei. So Qi and Zhao united under the banner of fighting against Wei.
In 354 BC, the State of Zhao sent troops to attack the State of Wei and forced the State of Wei to enter the dynasty. Wei was originally a vassal state of Wei, so Wei sent troops to attack Zhao and surrounded Handan, the capital of Zhao. Zhao was in danger, so he sent envoys to Qi for help. King Wei of Qi wanted to use Sun Bin as his general to lead his army to rescue Zhao. Sun Bin refused on the grounds that "it is not allowed to punish the remaining people". So King Wei appointed Tian Ji as his general and Sun Bin as his military advisor, and led an army of 80,000 to attack Wei. At first, Tian Ji wanted to go straight to Handan to attack the Wei army. Sun Bin thought it was impossible. He said: "If you resolve the chaos and disputes, you will not control the situation; if you rescue the struggle, you will not fight; if you criticize the strong and suppress the weak; if the shape and form are restrained, then you will solve the problem yourself. Now that Liang and Zhao are attacking each other, the troops are light and sharp." The soldiers will be exhausted on the outside, and the old and weak will be exhausted on the inside. If you don't lead your troops to the main beams, occupy the streets and attack the weak areas, they will release Zhao and save themselves. I will break the siege of Zhao in one fell swoop and take advantage of Wei. "Tian Ji followed the plan and led the Qi army to march towards Daliang in a mighty manner. The Qi army and the Wei and Song coalition forces attacking Xiangling responded to each other, forming a situation of attacking Daliang from two sides. Daliang was in danger, and Pang Juan led his army back to rescue Daliang. The Wei army traveled a long distance, making their men and horses exhausted and exhausted. When they passed through Guiling (now northeast of Heze County, Shandong), they were ambushed by the Qi army and the Wei army was defeated. This created a glorious battle example of "encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao" in the history of Chinese wars.