Sun Bin Sun Bin ( ; died 316 BC ) was a military strategist who lived during the Warring States period of Chinese history . An alleged descendant of Sun Tzu , Sun Bin was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi . He was accused of treason while serving in the Wei state and was sentenced to face - tattooing ( criminal branding ) and had his kneecaps removed , rendering him a handicap for the rest of his life . Sun escaped from Wei later and rose to prominence in the Qi state , by serving as a military strategist and commander . He led Qi to victory against the Wei state at the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling . Sun authored the military treatise " Sun Bin ' s Art of War " , which was rediscovered in a 1972 archaeological excavation after being lost for almost 2000 years . Some historians have speculated that Sun Bin might be actually the same person as his alleged ancestor , Sun Tzu . Biography . Early life . An alleged descendant of Sun Tzu , Sun Bin was recognized for his brilliance at an early age , while he was still studying military strategy under the tutelage of the hermit Guiguzi . He could recite " The Art of War " , which made Guiguzi remark that all his other students should look up to Sun Bin as a role model . Pang Juan , a fellow student of Sun Bin , became sworn brother s with Sun . Pang left early and went to serve the Wei state as a military general , making his name after scoring victories in a few battles . Sun Bin , who was still studying with their teacher then , was invited to enter the service of Wei and he became Pang ' s colleague . However , Pang was secretly jealous of Sun , because he perceived that Sun Bin was more talented , and had learnt more about military strategy from their teacher than him . Mutilation . Pang Juan framed Sun Bin for treason and reported him to King Hui of Wei , who ordered Sun Bin to be executed . Pang pretended to plead for mercy on Sun ' s behalf , and the king condemned Sun to face - tattooing and removal of the kneecaps , effectively branding Sun as a criminal and rendering him a handicap for the rest of his life . Pang pretended to take pity on Sun and treated him well , while trying to trick Sun into compiling his knowledge on military strategy into a book , and Pang would kill him after that . Sun Bin realized Pang ' s true intentions later and feigned madness . Pang attempted to test whether Sun had really become insane or not , so he had Sun locked up in a pigsty . Sun appeared to enjoy himself there and he even consumed animal faeces , remarking that it was delicious . Pang believed that Sun was really mad and lowered his guard . Sun Bin managed to escape from the Wei state later with the help of diplomats from the Qi state . Service in Qi . In the Qi state , Sun Bin became a retainer ( guest ) in the residence of Tian Ji , a military general . Once , King Wei of Qi invited Tian Ji to a racing competition between their horses . Sun Bin suggested a strategy to Tian Ji on how to utilize his horses to his advantage , and Tian won two out of three rounds in the race . The king was impressed with Tian ' s victory , and Tian admitted that he won with the help of Sun Bin , and he recommended Sun as a talent to the king . King Wei wanted to appoint Sun Bin as the commander of the Qi armies , but Sun declined , as his handicap prevented him from riding on horses , and would have a negative affect on the morale of soldiers . Sun was appointed as chief military advisor instead and served as Tian Ji ' s deputy . In 354 BC , Wei state attacked the Zhao state , with Pang Juan leading the Wei army , and besieged the Zhao capital city of Handan . Zhao requested help from Qi , and the king of Qi commissioned Sun Bin and Tian Ji to lead an army to help Zhao . Sun Bin proposed the strategy of " besieging Wei to rescue Zhao " and the Qi army attacked the Wei capital city of Daliang ( present - day Kaifeng ) , forcing the Wei army to turn back to save the city and effectively lifting the siege on Handan . The Wei army was ambushed and defeated by the Qi forces at the Battle of Guiling . In 342 BC , the Wei army led by Pang Juan invaded the Han state , an ally of the Qi state , and Han requested help from Qi . Sun Bin and Tian Ji were put in charge of the Qi army again to counter the Wei forces . Sun used a strategy of feigning defeat in a series of skirmishes with the Wei forces , in order to lure Pang Juan to pursue him . Sun ordered the Qi troops to reduce the number of cooking stoves they used , to create a false impression that the Qi army was shrinking in size . The pursuing Wei forces led by Pang Juan spotted the trend by observing the marks left behind by the stoves , and Pang fell for Sun Bin ' s ruse . Eager to defeat Sun Bin , Pang continued the pursuit and fell into an ambush in a narrow valley laid by the Qi forces . The Wei army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Maling and Pang Juan committed suicide , while the crown prince of Wei was captured by the Qi forces . In traditional folklore , Sun Bin carved the words " Pang Juan dies under this tree " on a tree in the ambush area . When Pang arrived there , he saw that there were carvings on the tree so he lit a torch for a closer look . Right then , using the torch as the target , the Qi troops lying in ambush attacked . Pang committed suicide after being hit by many enemy arrows . Sun Bin retired from service because of political entanglement in the court and led a reclusive life as a hermit in the later part of his life . Sun Bin ' s Art of War . " Sun Bin ' s Art of War " ( 孫臏兵法 ) is a military treatise authored by Sun Bin . The book was believed to be lost after the Han Dynasty , and although there were numerous references to it in post - contemporary texts , some historians still believed that the book was never written and could be a forgery . However , in April 1972 , archaeologists excavated several fragments of scrolls from a tomb in Linyi , Shandong province . " Sun Bin ' s Art of War " was found among the scrolls . Although ancient texts mention that the original " Sun Bin ' s Art of War " was 89 chapters long , the rediscovered copy had 16 verifiable chapters only . As fragments of Sun Tzu ' s " The Art of War " were discovered as well , historians believed that some of the chapters might actually belong to " The Art of War " instead . The newly discovered text provided historians with a different perspective on the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling . In addition , when compared to Sun Tzu ' s " The Art of War " , " Sun Bin ' s Art of War " contained one major difference from the former . The former advised against siege warfare , while the latter suggested tactics for attacking a besieged city . This paralleled a shift in the strategic consideration of siege warfare during the later stages of the Warring States period . Popular culture . Sun Bin is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game " Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI " by Koei . His rivalry with Pang Juan is portrayed in the 2011 film " The Warring States " .