active 4th century B.C. Rangju Sima

Usually identified as Sima Rangju, and also called Tian Rangju, he is described in reference works as a military general of the state of Qi in ancient China. Traditional accounts place him in the late Spring and Autumn period, though some editions and catalog records connect the text associated with his name to the 4th century B.C., reflecting how uncertain the historical record is.

He is best known through The Methods of the Sima (Sima Fa), one of the Seven Military Classics of China. The work is less about battlefield tricks than about military order, discipline, administration, and the moral limits of war, which helps explain why his name has remained important for centuries.

Because the sources are so old and sometimes inconsistent, it is safest to view him as a partly historical, partly traditional author figure: a celebrated commander whose reputation became attached to an influential military text. That mix of biography, legend, and political thought is a big part of his lasting appeal.