Sun Bin in History:

Sun Bin (formerly known as Sun Boling), a famous military strategist during the Warring States Period of China, one of the sixty-four generals of the Tang Wucheng Temple and one of the seventy-two generals of the Song Wumiao, was born between A and Juan (now in the north of Juancheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province), and is a descendant of Sun Wu. Sun Bin was once a classmate of Pang Juan, but was tortured for being persecuted by Pang Juan and was physically disabled; Later, he defected to the State of Qi, was appointed as a military advisor by King Qi Wei, and assisted Tian Ji, the general of the State of Qi, to defeat Pang Juan twice, and won the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling, laying the hegemony of the State of Qi.

After Wei Gongzi Huisun, he took the word as his name. Wei has Uncle Tao, for Situ Hou, Uncle Tao, Situ. Wu Gongsheng Ji provoked, and was collected in Ning for the Ning family. Sun Quan was called Wu, and the fourth died in Jin, and there was the Li family (Sun Hao changed his surname to Li in Xiuben Wei. "Tang Youzhou Internal Government Deputy General, Zhongsan Doctor, Test Hall Central Supervisor Le'an County Sun Fu Jun Shendao Tablet" and "Tang Dynasty Wei Zhou Changle County Order Sun Jun Epitaph" and other inscriptions, Sun Wuyuan out of Wei Guo Ji surnamed Sun Yi. The inscription of Sun Renlin's self-described family lineage in the Tang Dynasty records that Sun Bin was a descendant of Duke Wu of Wei.

Flee to the country of Qi

Sun Bin was once a classmate of Pang Juan, Pang Juan later came out of the Wei State, he thought that his talent was not as good as Sun Bin, so he secretly sent someone to invite Sun Bin to the Wei State to monitor. After Sun Bin arrived in the Wei State, Pang Juan fabricated charges and sentenced Sun Bin to death and punishment, dug out Sun Bin's knees and tattooed words on his face, trying to bury him in the world. The envoy of Qi felt that Sun Bin was extraordinary, so he secretly drove him back to Qi by car.

Tian Ji horse racing

Tian Ji often raced horses with the princes of Qi and set heavy money as a bet. Sun Bin found that the strength of the horses and feet in the game was about the same, and it could be divided into upper, middle, and lower three, so he suggested that Tian Ji increase the stakes and assured him that he would win. The method adopted by Sun Bin in the story of "Tian Ji Horse Racing" is regarded as the earliest application of the "strategy theory".

Battle of Guiling

In 354 BCE, Zhao attacked Wei's ally, Wei, and captured Qi and Fuqiu (both in present-day Gaoguanyuan County, Henan), which led to Wei intervention, and Wei sent troops to besiege Zhao's capital Handan (present-day Handan, Hebei Province). The following year, Zhao sent envoys to Qi and Chu for help. King Qi Wei convened his ministers to discuss, but Zou Ji opposed the rescue, while Duan Ganpeng suggested that King Qi Wei divide his troops all the way south to attack Xiangling (present-day Sui County, Henan Province) to fatigue the Wei army, and then take advantage of the Wei army's breakthrough of Handan to rescue Zhao, which not only rescued Zhao, but also weakened Wei and Zhao at the same time. King Qi Wei adopted Duan Ganpeng's suggestion and divided his troops into two routes, one for the Qi army to besiege Xiangling of Wei, and one for Tian Ji and Sun Bin to lead the rescue of Zhao.

Battle of Maling

In 342 BCE, the Wei general Sui Su repelled the armies of the Han general Kong Ye at Nanliang (present-day west of Ruzhou City, Henan Province) and Huo (present-day southwest of Ruzhou City, Henan Province), and Han Zhaohou sent envoys to the Qi state for help. Sun Bin once again adopted the tactic of besieging Wei to save Zhao, and led his army to attack Daliang, the capital of Wei. After this war, the vitality of the Wei State was greatly damaged and it lost its hegemony.

Military thought

Sun Bin's military thinking mainly focused on the Art of War. In terms of the concept of war, Sun Bin advocated attaching importance to and treating war prudently. He stressed that war is an important means of solving problems in the country's political life, and only by using strong force as a guarantee can the country be stable, prosperous, and strong. However, he opposed the recklessness of military force, pointing out that victory in war can save a country on the verge of extinction, but defeat will also result in the loss of land and harm to society, and blindly belligerent will inevitably perish and bring humiliation upon itself, so war must be treated with caution and must not be used or abused. Sun Bin advocated actively making preparations for war in order to achieve victory, so that war can be used to suppress war. He pointed out that political and economic conditions are the basis for determining the outcome of a war, and that "a strong army" must first "enrich a country," and that only with a strong political and economic backing can we "prepare for things and then act." He also pointed out that the will of the people and the will of the army is the decisive factor in winning the war, so the war must conform to the will of the people and the army, and it is necessary to "win the people" and "win the people."

In terms of the epistemology of war, Sun Bin proposed that generals should know the "Tao", and the "Tao" is the law of war. Sun Bin believed that factors such as the large number of people, the abundance of food, and the sophistication of weapons were not enough to guarantee victory during the battle, and that only by mastering the laws of war, understanding the situation of both the enemy and us, and giving proper command could victory be guaranteed. To this end, he specially expounded on the contradictions of accumulation and sparseness, surplus and deficiency, path, hurry, outnumber, and labor, and also conducted a in-depth analysis of "Qizheng", believing that only when the generals truly understand the role of these contradictions and grasp the law of transformation of these contradictions can they use subtle changes to win by surprise.

In terms of strategic thinking, Sun Bin emphasized that "we must attack but not defend." When the enemy is outnumbered and the enemy is strong and we are weak, taking the initiative to attack the weak links of the enemy's defense can not only effectively annihilate the enemy's vital forces, but also change the offensive and defensive situation and seize the initiative in the war. In terms of tactics, Sun Bin put forward the idea of "adapting to the situation" and "building momentum". We should make full use of the conditions on both sides and create a situation favorable to us in order to reverse the unfavorable situation in which we are outnumbered.

In terms of specific tactics, Sun Bin made a special discussion on the formation method, and then analyzed the countermeasures for attacking various battle formations. He also specifically discussed the problem of siege, dividing the cities in different terrains into two categories: the difficult to attack the Xiongcheng and the easy to attack the city, and discussed the strategy and technology of the siege at that time.

In terms of army building and management, first of all, he analyzed the relationship between the monarch and the generals. Generals must be loyal to the monarch, the monarch should not interfere in the specific military affairs of the generals, and the generals must have independent military command. Secondly, he has a lot to say about the quality of generals. Generals should possess the five elements of righteousness, benevolence, virtue, trustworthiness, and wisdom, and he also analyzed the moral defects that can lead to the defeat of generals in battle. Finally, he discussed the problems of managing the team, which can be summarized as appointing meritocracy, strict discipline, fair rewards and punishments, and timely rewards and punishments.

However, Sun Bin's military thinking also had its class and the limitations of the times. It should also be pointed out that he does not distinguish the nature of warfare, treats soldiers purely as tools to be driven, and makes some strategic and tactical statements too simplistic and one-sided, sometimes mixed with superstitious concepts.

The tomb of Sun Bin is located on the east bank of the Xiangyang River, 500 meters northeast of Sun Huayuan Village, Jishan Town, Juancheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province.

Sun Bin resigned in his later years and returned to his hometown, building a garden on the bank of the Yueyi River, writing and saying. At that time, the king of Qi often sent people here to visit Sun Bin, a generation of soldiers who had established outstanding feats for the Qi state, and built a post house in the northeast of the garden for officials to stay. After Sun Bin passed away, he was buried in front of the post house on the northeast side of the garden, and there was an endless stream of officials and people who went to pay tribute. Over time, this place became a holy place, and it became more and more prosperous, and the post house developed into a post city. Later, Buddhism was introduced to China, and a Yicheng Temple was built here. Take a hundred plating to read the latest chapter of "Glory of Kings: Sanction System Claw Book House" for free for the first time.