Biography of sun tzu tv series review

Bing Sheng (2008), a TV dramatization of the life of legendary strategist and Art of War author Sun Tzu, runs the length of the Wu state's power peak period.

It gets a little slow at times - specifically when the human drama bits are going on -- but its production values and inclusion of a range of major historical characters make it a great watch.

The latter, in fact, is its main attraction, with the tremendous amount of "fan service" available for Chinese history geeks.

It starts with a young Sun Tzu in Qi during the era of the legendary Yan Ying and Sima Rangju, when the Sun and Tian clans were locked in conflict against the Gao and Guo clans.

Simultaneously, the Wu clan is in trouble for standing up for righteousness in the state of Chu.

The story then follows how Sun Tzu and Wu Zixu leave their respective states, and eventually end up in the service of ambitious King Helv of the Wu state -- a confluence of milita