孙膑 / Sun Bin

孙膑 / Sun Bin enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·周纪》16丨孙膑庞涓恩怨纠葛 桂陵之战, where he is the strategist behind 田忌赛马 and 围魏救赵. The episode first presents him as 庞涓’s fellow student under 鬼谷子, then as the victim of Pang Juan’s trap in 魏国.

The source stresses Sun Bin’s recovery of agency after punishment. A 齐国 envoy secretly brings him out of Wei, 田忌 treats him as a guest, and his reading of the horse races reveals his method: classify available resources, accept a local loss, and arrange matchups so the total contest can be won.

In the military branch, 齐威王 first wants him to command the rescue of 赵国, but Sun Bin says his mutilation and disability make immediate army authority difficult. He therefore becomes Tian Ji’s military adviser and redirects Qi away from a direct rescue march toward an attack on 大梁, leading to 桂陵之战.

Connections

• 庞涓 and 鬼谷子 - fellow student and teacher branch in the source.
• 田忌, 齐威王, and 齐国 - Qi patronage and command setting.
• Tian Ji Horse Racing / 田忌赛马, Lure Enemy Out of Position / 诱敌离位, and Encircling Wei to Rescue Zhao / 围魏救赵 - strategic patterns attributed to him in the episode.
• 桂陵之战, 魏国, 赵国, 大梁, and 邯郸 - campaign setting.
• 《孙膑兵法》 and Historical Detective Reasoning - later textual-evidence branch.