孫武正式立傳，始於史遷。孫子不單獨立傳，且絕大篇幅集中在為吳王練宮女，我 人認為史遷並不特別肯定孫子。史遷筆下練宮女看似荒謬，卻是吳王闔閭安定吳軍將領 之舉，如果孫武通過考驗，顯出實學，則委以稗將，以爭取人才並安定軍心。孫武也使 出渾身解數，被拔擢成為吳軍一員。找出史遷筆法著眼，可以了解他對這位兵學大師的 看法；從孫武順利完成考驗，更證明他不僅善於用兵，更善於解讀人心。史遷筆法曲折， 孫武因應得法，本文將就其司馬遷奇險處理心態加以論述之。

We know Sun Tzu solely from Sima Qian’s the Historical Records (司馬遷史記). This paper argues that Sima does not think very highly of Sun Tzu, for not only was his biography of Sun Tzu written together with other two ancient generals, Wu Qi (吳起) and Sun Bin (孫 臏), but it focused primarily on his drilling the concubines. To Sima, Herlu (闔閭) was intrigued that a complete outsider could be bold and resourceful enough to con his way into the inner most circle and somehow manage to acquire sensitive information, and Herlu thought such a person was worth investigating and recruiting. Sima implies that Herlu offered Sun Tzu a chance to ease the anxiety of his own generals and that the generals could ridicule his effort of drilling concubines. If Sun Tzu could withstand the joke and earn his stripes, Herlu would offer him a position to keep him in Wu, albeit a minor one to pacify his own generals. Sun Tzu, however, would become an integral component of the king’s army and would wield unassailable power and authority which could not be questioned. Identifying Sima’s reasons for writing this episode will help us to understand his perception of this military guru. We can better appreciate Sun Tzu when we view him not just as an expert in warfare, but as a psychological mastermind as well. Grappling with why Sima writes in such a way as to surprise the readers about this famous military guru is a subject worth exploring.