Tian Ji's Horse Race

CORE DEFINITION

Sun Bin (382 BC – 316 BC), also known as Boling, was a military strategist of the mid-Warring States period and a representative of the Military School. He was born in the area between A and Juan (modern Acheng Town, Yanggu County, Shandong Province, and north of Juan County, Heze City), and was a descendant of Sun Wu. Sun Bin was a classmate of Pang Juan, but was persecuted by Pang Juan and suffered the punishment of having his kneecaps removed, leaving him disabled. Later, with the help of Qi envoys, he defected to Qi, where he was appointed as a military advisor by King Wei of Qi. He assisted General Tian Ji of Qi in defeating Pang Juan twice, achieving victories at the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling, which established Qi's hegemony. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a historical novel titled 'Sun Pang Doudou Yanyi' was based on the lives of Sun Bin and Pang Juan, spreading the story of their rivalry. During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, Sun Bin was among sixty-four famous generals with outstanding military achievements enshrined in the Temple of King Wu, known as the Sixty-Four Generals of the Temple of King Wu. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Sun Bin was posthumously honored as Wu Qing Bo and was listed among the Seventy-Two Generals of the Song Martial Temple.