Sima Qian mentioned two surnamed Sun in the "Historical Records · Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi". One named Sun Wu, a native of Qi in the late Spring and Autumn Period, authored the Thirteen Articles of Art of War, which we now call "The Art of War of Sun Tzu". There is also a man named Sun Bin, a native of Wei during the Warring States Period, who wrote "The Art of War by Sun Bin", but it has been lost.
It stands to reason that everyone believes very much in the records in the "Historical Records" and clearly refers to Sun Wu as "grandson", and Sun Bin is the descendant of Sun Wu. However, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, people discovered that some records in the "Historical Records" were not completely accurate, and they became suspicious of "Sun Tzu". Some people say that there has never been a person like Sun Wu, "Sun Tzu" refers to Sun Bin, and "Sun Tzu Art of War" is actually "Sun Bin". This statement was even approved by Liang Qichao. Others say that Sun Bin is actually Sun Wu's grandson, so the term "Sun Tzu" specifically refers to Sun Bin. There are different opinions, but there are many hypotheses about who the "grandson" is.
Since the founding of New China, many Han Dynasty scripts have been unearthed one after another. Among them, two books of war were discovered in the Yinqueshan Han Tomb archeology. One is "The Art of War of Sun Tzu" that has been passed down to this day, and the other is "The Art of War of Sun Bin" that has long been lost. Then the truth has become clear. Indeed, both Sun Wu and Sun Bin are real, and the term "Sun Tzu" also refers specifically to Sun Wu.
Next we are going to verify the relationship between Sun Bin and Sun Wu. According to the available information, the birth time of Sun Wu and Sun Bin differed by more than a hundred years, and it would certainly not be a grandparent relationship. In fact, in order to reflect their military heritage, it is not unreasonable to call Sun Bin a descendant of Sun Wu, but their actual relationship may never be known.
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