The Warring States

"The Warring State" is set during China's Warring States Period (475 BC -- 221 BC) and centers on a rivalry between military strategists Sun Bin and Pang Juan. Both men studied military strategy together before Pang became a top military general for the Wei state. Despite his success, Pang became jealous of Sun's closer relationship to their hermit mentor and had him framed for treason against the state. Sun's life was spared by Pang's intervention, but he was branded a criminal and had his kneecaps removed. Pang feigned pity to trick Sun into compiling his strategic knowledge into a book with the intention to kill him afterwards. Sun became aware of the plot and pretended to go mad long enough to escape to the Qi state where he became a top strategist and statesman. Both men later led armies against one another on the battlefield.