Pang Juan was an ancient Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

 military general of the Wei state

Wei (state)

The State of Wei was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern day Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong...

 during the Warring States Period

Warring States Period

The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...

.

Early life

Pang Juan was a fellow student of Sun Bin

Sun Bin

Sun Bin 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...

 and both of them studied military strategy

Military strategy

Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...

 together under the tutelage of the hermit Guiguzi

Guiguzi

Wang Xu , better known by his pseudonym Guiguzi , is an ancient Chinese philosopher from the Warring States Period of Chinese history. He was the founder of the School of Diplomacy of the Hundred Schools of Thought during that period...

. They developed a close friendship and became sworn brother

Blood brother

Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...

s, while studying in seclusion with their teacher in mountainous regions. Pang left and ventured to the Wei state when he heard that King Hui of Wei

King Hui of Wei

King Hui of Wei , originally called Marquis Hui of Wei, and after 344, King Hui of Liang was the third ruler of the state of Wei during the Warring States Period, ruling from approximately 370 BC–319 BC...

 was recruiting men of talent to serve him. Pang impressed the king with his proposals on policies to strengthen the Wei state and boldly asserted that he had the ability to help Wei conquer the other six major rival states. The king appointed Pang Juan as a military general and put him in charge of Wei's military forces. Pang led the Wei armies to victories in battles against smaller states such as Song

Song (state)

Sòng was a state during the Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn Period . Its capital was Shangqiu . In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Song and Duke Zhuang of Zheng empowered Song to manipulate the management of Zheng.- Origin :After King Wu of Zhou overthrew King Zhou of Shang,...

, Lu

Lu (state)

The State of Lu, was a Zhou Dynasty ducal vassal state before and during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Founded in the 10th century BC, its dukes used Ji as their family name. The first duke was Boqin |Qi]] and to the south by the powerful state of Chu...

 and Zheng

Zheng (state)

Zheng （) was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty located in the centre of ancient China in modern day Henan Province on the North China Plain about east of the royal capital at Luoyang. It was the most powerful of the vassal states at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou...

 and became a highly-respected figure in Wei.

Rivalry with Sun Bin

Pang invited Sun Bin to join him in serving the Wei state later but he was actually secretly jealous of Sun because Sun learnt more from their teacher than him. Pang Juan framed Sun Bin on charges of treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 later and reported Sun to King Hui. The king believed Pang and was furious, that he ordered Sun Bin to be executed. Pang pretended to plead for mercy on Sun's behalf and the king agreed to spare Sun's life. Sun was condemned to face-tattooing (criminal branding) and had his kneecaps removed, becoming a cripple. Pang pretended to take pity on Sun and tried to trick him to compile his knowledge about military strategy into a book and kill him later. Sun Bin discovered Pang's true intentions later and feigned madness. Sun escaped from Wei with the help of officials from the Qi state

Qi (state)

Qi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Its capital was Linzi, now part of the modern day city of Zibo in Shandong Province....

 and became an important strategist and statesman in Qi later.

Defeat and death

A struggle between Pang Juan and Sun Bin began, as each of them led his respective state's armies to attack the other. Pang Juan led the Wei army to attack the Zhao state

Zhao (state)

Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...

 and Zhao requested help from the Qi state. Sun Bin led the Qi army together with Tian Ji

Tian Ji

Tian Ji , style name Qi , was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States Period of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist...

 and proposed the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao", luring Pang Juan to turn back to save Wei from the Qi army, hence lifting the siege on Zhao. At the Battle of Guiling

Battle of Guiling

The Battle of Guìlíng was fought between the states of Qí and Wèi in the Warring States period of Chinese history. In 354 BC, an army from Wèi was laying siege to Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao. The next year, Zhao turned to Qi for help. Tian Ji and Sun Bin, acting as co-commanders of...

, Pang Juan's forces were defeated in an ambush by Sun Bin's army. Pang led the Wei army to attack the Han state

Han (state)

Han was a kingdom during the Warring States Period in China, located in modern-day Shanxi and Henan. Not to be confused with South Korea which shares the same character....

 later and Sun Bin led the Qi forces to invade Wei to save Han. Sun used a strategy to lure Pang Juan's army to follow the Qi army by feigning defeat. Pang fell for the ruse and trailed Sun, where he noticed that the Qi army was apparently shrinking in size. Pang was eager to defeat Sun Bin and he led a light cavalry unit in pursuit, but fell into an ambush by the Qi army in a narrow valley at the Battle of Maling

Battle of Maling

The Battle of Maling took place in Maling, currently Dazhangjia Town , Shen County , Henan Province, in 342 BC during the Warring States Period . The combatants were the State of Qi, who fought on behalf of the State of Han, and the State of Wei...

. The Wei army suffered a crushing defeat and the Wei crown prince was captured by Qi forces, while Pang Juan committed suicide. In traditional folklore, Sun Bin carved the words "Pang Juan dies under this tree" on a tree at the ambush area. When Pang and his men arrived, he saw that there were carvings on the tree so he lit a torch for a closer look. At that moment, the Qi troops lying in ambush attacked and Pang Juan committed suicide under that very tree.