Sun Jian

Sun Jian (孫堅, pinyin: Sūn Jiān ) (156-191), courtesy name Wentai (文台), was a warlord from Jiang Dong, the southeastern part of China, later the Wu Kingdom. He was said to be descended from the legendary strategist Sun Tzu, author of 'The Art of War', and was nicknamed the Tiger of Jiang Dong (江东猛虎).

At the age of seventeen Sun Jian gained recognition. Whilst travelling with his father by boat they came across some pirates dividing up recently robbed loot. Sun Jian went ahead with his blade in hand onto the bank and waved his hands east and west as if he was signalling to detachments of soldiers that were moving to surround the bandits. The pirates sighted this and thinking government troops had come to arrest them, abandoned their loot, scattered and fled. Sun Jian pursued, and only after taking the head of a pirate did he return.

He fought against the Yellow Turban forces and against Dong Zhuo when the latter took control of the imperial court. In the battle against Dong Zhuo he is credited for taking the head of Hua Xiong, one of Dong's fiercest generals, although the novel falsely gives credit for this deed to Guan Yu.

After Dong Zhuo was killed, Sun Jian stole the Imperial Seal and fled south, Liu Biao stopped Sun Jian. Sun Jian broke through his forces and later, led a campaign against Liu Biao in Jingzhou. Liu Biao sent his general Huang Zu against him, Sun Jian defeated him and pursued across the Han River where he was crushed by many logs that were rolled off a hill.