Sun Bin

Sun Bin was a descendant of the famed strategist Sun Wu. He studied military science alongside Pang Juan, but was later framed by Pang Juan and subjected to the brutal 'bin' punishment—amputation of the kneecaps—which left him permanently disabled. He subsequently fled to the State of Qi, where he served as chief military advisor. Through ingenious stratagems—including the 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao' ploy and the 'reduced cooking-fires deception'—he decisively defeated the Wei army; at the Battle of Maling, he ambushed and killed Pang Juan. Legend holds that, after his mutilation, Sun Bin crafted soft leather boots to protect his knees and aid mobility—hence his veneration by shoemakers and leatherworkers as their founding patron. His seminal work, the *Art of War by Sun Bin*, was lost for centuries before being rediscovered among the Yinqueshan Han dynasty bamboo slips. His profound contributions to military thought have endured across millennia. In his hometown of Juancheng County, a temple has been erected in his honour, commemorating him as an enduring paragon of resilience in humiliation and victory through superior intellect.