Known as the descendant of the great strategist Sun Tzu, Sun Jian is the father of Sun Ce and Sun Quan. He was a native of Fuchun in the old state of Wu and was said to have a broad open face, a body as an alert tiger, and a torso as a lofty bear. When he was 17, he fought the pirates with his father and gained a good reputation. He distinguished himself when fighting the Yellow Turban rebels and was promoted to a post of Commander of Changsha. He went to assume the new office and put down another rebellion near Changsha.
     When the coalition stood up against Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian was the man who volunteered to be the Van Leader in the first attack. He fought Hua Xiong at the River Si Pass and scored a victory. Then he sent a messenger to Yuan Shu, who was in charge of supplies, for provisions. But Yuan Shu listened to slander and refused the aid, thus forcing Sun Jian to retreat. Zu Mao lost his life when he took his master's helmet to draw off the enemy, allowing him to escape. Dong Zhuo respected and admired him, then proposed a marriage between his daughter and Sun Jian's son. But Sun Jian flatly refused.
     Eventually, Dong Zhuo fled to Changan and had the capital Luoyang evacuated and burned. Then one night when Sun Jian was walking at the capital, he found a shining seal in a well. Cheng Pu at once recognized it as the Imperial Hereditary Seal of the Emperor. Then he returned to Changsha but Yuan Shao found out about the seal and ordered Liu Biao to stop him and take away the seal.
     On his way home, Sun Jian met Liu Biao at Jingzhou and was surrounded. He eventually fought his way through, though with the loss of more than half his troops. Henceforward Sun Jian and Liu Biao were open enemies. On his first attack, he defeated Huang Zu, and surrounded Liu Biao at Xiangyang. But unfortunately during the fight, Sun Jian fell to Kuai Liang's trap and he and his stead were killed.