Sun Sheng

Sun Sheng (302–373), courtesy name Anguo, was a Jin dynasty historian. He was a native of Pingyao County, Jinzhong, Shanxi. He was described to be very studious, and was never seen without holding a book in his hand from his youth to his old age. Life Sun Sheng's father Sun Xun (孫恂) was Grand Administrator of Yingchuan (潁川), in present-day Henan and Anhui. He was killed by bandits when Sun Sheng was nine, and the rest of the family fled to safety across the Yangtze River. In his young adulthood, Sun Sheng achieved fame as a serious scholar of the I Ching, composing an essay which some of the leading luminaries of the time, including Yin Hao, Wang Meng, and Xie Shang were unable to debate with him. Parts of the essay, "The Symbols of the Book of Changes are More Subtle than the Visible Shapes of Nature", survive and have been translated by Richard B. Mather. After entering politics, Sun Sheng served under Tao Kan, Yu Liang, and Huan Wen, accompanying the latter into Sichuan. On campaign, Huan Wen had taken his infantry to attack, and Sun Sheng was in charge of the weak, the elderly, and the baggage train, when they were suddenly set upon by thousands of bandits. The rearguard managed to rise to the occasion and drive them away. Huan Wen appointed Sun Sheng Marquis of Anhuai, in present-day Pingnan County, Guangxi, and he was attached to Huan Wen's household as a travelling secretary.