Overview
Sun Bin was a general and strategist of the Warring States.
PeriodAncient China
IdentityHistorical · Male
Life and dates
Attested activity
- BC 380 to BC 316 孫臏Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 83, passage 115
- BC 318 宣王二年Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 75, passage 8
- BC 341 後十三歲…馬陵Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 59, 72
- BC 350 戰國Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 25, passage 58
- c. BC 350 戰國時期Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 48, passage 170
- BC 353 to BC 341 桂陵…馬陵Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 58-59, 72
Show 1 more source-backed claim
- BC 356 to BC 301 齊威王、宣王用孫子Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 74, passage 12
Family
- Descendant of Sun Tzu (孫子)descendant 後世子孫Sources vary in certainty · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 36
Key source chapters
- Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 65 Biographies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi 18 passages
- Book of Han, Chapter 25 Volume 23: Treatise on Punishment and Law 1 passage
- Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 48 House of Chen She 1 passage
- Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 74 Biographies of Mengzi and Xun Qing 1 passage
- Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 75 Biography of Lord Mengchang 1 passage
Origins and identity
- Lineage descendant of Sun Wu 孫武之後世子孫 · Ancestor Person Id Sun Tzu (孫子)Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 36
Career and standing
- teacher/advisor 師AppointedDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 50, 53
- HeldConvict laborer · Details criminal laborer 刑徒Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 40
- SufferedMutilation · Details feet amputated and face branded 刑斷其兩足而黥之Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 39
Places and affiliations
- Polity Qi 齊 · Relation Associated withDirectly stated · Book of Han 25, passage 58
- Polity Qi 齊 · Relation OfDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 75, passage 8
- Polity Qi 齊 · Relation Served
- At between A and Juan 阿鄄之閒Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 36
- At Qi 齊 · Relation Migrated toDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 41
Learning and skills
- Subject military strategy 兵法 · Relation StudiedDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 37
Works and attributed material
- military writings 篇籍Relation Associated authorDirectly stated · Book of Han 25, passage 58
- military strategy treatise 兵法Relation AuthorDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 74
- Speech · Speaker · With Tian Ji (田忌)Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 45, 47, 54-57, 62-64
Events and relationships
- Advised chariot race wager strategyDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 45, 47-48
- Captured enemies and established victoriesMilitary strategic · StrategistDirectly stated · Book of Han 25, passage 58
- Commanded the armies of the six statesMilitary · CommanderDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 48, passage 170
- Defeated Pang Juan at MalingDated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passages 67, 72-73
- Defeated Wei at GuilingDated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 58
- Defeated Wei at MalingDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 75, passage 8
Show 2 more source-backed claims
- Relation Fellow student of · Person Pang Juan (龐涓)Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 37
- Relation Teacher of · Person King Wei of Qi (齊威王)Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 50
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment clearly outplotted Pang Juan but could not escape mutilation · Mode historian-judgment Source Person Id Sima Qian (司馬遷)Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 65, passage 159
Source notes
- Historicity historicalDirectly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 75, passage 8
References in the histories
23 passages
No matching passages.