Pang Juan
The earliest Chinese documents mentioning a crossbow were texts from the 4th to 3rd centuries BC attributed to the followers of Mozi. This source refers to the use of a giant crossbow between the 6th and 5th centuries BC, corresponding to the late Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" (first appearance dated between 500 BC to 300 BC) refers to the characteristics and use of crossbows in chapters 5 and 12 respectively, and compares a drawn crossbow to "might". The "Huainanzi" advises its readers not to use crossbows in marshland where the surface is soft and it is hard to arm the crossbow with the foot. The "Records of the Grand Historian", completed in 94 BC, mentions that Sun Bin defeated Pang Juan by ambushing him with a body of crossbowmen at the Battle of Maling in 342 BC. The "Book of Han", finished 111 AD, lists two military treatises on crossbows.