#sun ben

He was Sun Jian’s nephew, a couple of years older than Sun Ce. Because Ben’s father died early, he was basically raised by Sun Jian. When Sun Jian gathered soldiers to fight Dong Zhuo, Sun Ben brought a group of volunteers from Wu to join him. He subsequently participated in the campaign.

When Sun Jian was killed in battle at the end of 191, it was Sun Ben who took over the army (since Sun Ce was too young and was living in Lujiang or Xu at the time). He was the leader of the family army from the winter of 191 until near the end of 195, when he transferred command over to Sun Ce. During that time, Sun Ben conquered Jiujiang for Yuan Shu. He also conquered Danyang before being driven out by Liu Yao.

Under Sun Ce, Sun Ben remained a top commander. In particular, he was responsible for ambushing Liu Xun’s forces en route to Huan, allowing Sun Ce to capture the city. He also played a leading role in the battles against Huang Zu and the conquest of Yuzhang.

Sun Ben’s career sort of stalled out under Sun Quan, who probably feared him as a rival. Sun Ben remained in Yuzhang for the rest of his career and was kept at a distance. He died around 220.

Also of note, his daughter was married to Cao Zhang in order to secure an alliance between the Cao and Sun.

Most fiction writes Sun Ben out entirely, just replacing him with Sun Ce. But he (along with Wu Jing) led the family army through a difficult time, and he had his share of military achievements. He certainly deserves to be remembered.