Tian Ji’s horses raced with the Emperor’s horses many times before. But his horses always lost, since the Emperor had slightly better horses because of his status as Emperor. At the next race, Tian Ji brings Sun Bin, who offers to aid him. The three horses each man owned are labeled as good, better, or best. Sun Bin suggested that Tian Ji’s “good” horse” goes against the Emperor’s “best” horse, which gives the first round to the Emperor. However, during the second and third rounds, he has Tian Ji’s best horse to race against the Emperor’s “better” horse and Tian Ji’s “better” horse race against the Emperor’s “good” horse. By using this strategy, Tian Ji was able to win two out of the three races. However, some people suggest that this win is not ethical, and plain cheating was put into view. Despite all the negative comments, I strongly believe that Tian Ji won fairly due to the nature of the competition, the way the plan was orchestrated, and the fact that the competition was rigged in the first place.
First of all, it was not stated that the horses had to be paired with each other according to their so-called “league”. The blog by Cornell University states that “ the rule of the race is that there are three rounds, and the winner is the one who wins at least two rounds.” This is the basic rules of the race, and Tian Ji respected the rules. Deciding to go against each other with horses with “similar” abilities was a choice that the Emperor and Tian Ji decided by themselves, therefore not dictated by the rules of the competition. The decision of deciding which horse goes with which horse is a decision that lies in their hands completely. Despite the general assumption that one would usually race with horses of the similar ability, no written rule prevents Tian Ji from having his best horse race with the Emperor’s better one.
Secondly, Tian Ji, with the help of Sun Bin, orchestrated his plan with perfect cunningness and correctness, with no cheating or harming of his opponent. He did not attempt to sabotage the Emperor’s horses, or do anything related to his horses. Instead, he focused on arranging his own horses so that he could win the race. His win was done in such a fashion that was subtle, but effective. Not only did this bout of intelligence win him the race, he also did so without malice of harming the opponent. It should also be noted that the Emperor could’ve used similar strategies, such as changing up his order of horses. However, he did not do so, which made him lose the race.
Lastly, although two wrongs don’t make a right, it is obvious that the Emperor was setting Tian Ji to failure from the very beginning. In ancient China, the Emperor was regarded as “the son of God”, therefore he had the best of everything. Even a high ranking official like Tian Ji could not surpass him in the level of horses. Since the race was unfair from the very beginning, there is nothing wrong with Tian Ji seeking his own way of fighting his way into winning. It is important to add that Sun Bin and Tian Jin won the race because of their own intelligence and willpower, and not because they had the upper hand or better resources.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that Tian Jin won the race fairly, because of the lack of rules dismissing his behavior, the nature of his plans, and the actual reality of the competition. In my opinion, it took Tian Jin great courage to allow himself to beat the Emperor, because of his divine position. However, the most impressive part of the story would be how Tian Jin did not rely on position or wealth for the outcome; he was able to use intelligence and help from a friend to boost himself to victory. Even though some people might believe that Tian Ji’s win was not well deserved, nothing is wrong with using intelligence to counter superior resources.
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