Is “Subjected to punishment of cutting off feet and branding face” true?
The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, clearly records that Sun Bin was framed by Pang Juan, 'cut off both his feet and branded his face, wanting to hide him so he would not be seen.' That is, Sun Bin indeed suffered the punishment of having his feet cut off (the punishment of cutting off the feet) and the punishment of branding the face (the punishment of branding). The description in Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Chapter 88, of Pang Juan, fearing Sun Bin's talent, fabricating charges and punishing him with the punishment of cutting off the feet and branding the face, follows the official history completely in core facts.
The punishment of cutting off the feet and branding the face is recorded in official history, while feigning madness and eating feces is fictional in the novel.
Other claims about Sun Bin
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