庞涓 / Pang Juan

庞涓 / Pang Juan appears in 《资治通鉴·周纪》16丨孙膑庞涓恩怨纠葛 桂陵之战 as 孙膑’s fellow student and betrayer. The episode says both men studied under 鬼谷子, but Pang Juan later becomes a 魏国 general and fears that his own ability is below Sun Bin’s.

Pang Juan’s source role is moral and narrative as much as military. He tricks Sun Bin into coming to Wei, has him falsely punished, and turns a talent rivalry into mutilation, humiliation, and confinement. The later 桂陵之战 branch is therefore presented not only as a Qi-Wei-Zhao campaign but also as the return of the strategist whom Wei had tried to break.

Connections

• 孙膑 - fellow student and victim in the episode.
• 鬼谷子 - shared teacher branch.
• 魏国 - state where Pang Juan serves.
• 桂陵之战 and Encircling Wei to Rescue Zhao / 围魏救赵 - later campaign frame connected to the Sun Bin-Pang Juan conflict.
• 战国时期 - competitive setting where talent rivalry becomes politically consequential.