In Tian Ji Horse Racing, Tian Ji's king, the king of Qi, invited Tian Ji to participate in a horse racing game with him. There were three rounds; if one lost one but won two, that person would be the winner. But Tian Ji would lose every time because the king's horses were always slightly better. One day, Sun Bin helped Tian Ji win. The horses were sorted high, middle, and low-leveled. So Tian Ji's lowest-leveled horse competed with the king's high-leveled horse, but his high-leveled with the king's middle-leveled and his middle-leveled with the king's lowest-leveled. That way, Tian Ji lost the first round but won the next two rounds. However, Tian Ji's strategy is unfair to his opponent.
In Tian Ji’s horse race with the king of Qi, the rules weren’t fair towards the king. Rules are major regulations whether it is in a tournament, game, or race, as in Tian Ji Horse Racing. In the story, the two participants’ horses should be competed against each other by their level. On the other hand, Tian Ji’s lowest-leveled, highest-leveled, middle-leveled, and the king’s highest-leveled, middle-leveled, and lowest-leveled competed with each other respectfully. Whereas the rule of normal horse races included having the same leveled horse compete with the same-leveled horse, Tian Ji did not apply to the rules. In our modern soccer tournaments, boxing tournaments, or even horse racing, the competitors should be at the same level. If a soccer team consisting of middle-aged participants and a group of elementary school children were competing against each other, the tournament would be unfair. The horse race in Tian Ji Horse Racing wasn’t fair towards the king of Qi, as it did not apply to the rules of normal tournaments.
Not only were the rules of race unfair, but Tian Ji also had no spirit of the contract. Having no spirit of the contract is when we are dishonest about something and “go back on our word”. In the story, when Tian Ji listened to Sun Bin’s ‘advice’ and sneakily changed the horses, even though he wasn’t supposed to. Tian Ji was not only dishonest about the horse levels but was actually very confident and happy with himself, though it was Sun Bin’s idea. Tian Ji should have told the king of Qi the new order that he was changing, or at least alert him about that. On the other hand, Tian Ji didn’t even say a word to the king and didn’t mind how the king would have felt. In this case, Tian Ji was dishonest and bad for sneakily switching the order of the horses without the king’s notice. We should never be dishonest about the promises we made and have no spirit of the contract. Unlike Tian Ji, everyone should be honest, even if it is our fault because lying has worse consequences. During the second match of the race, Tian Ji cheated and didn’t even talk about the order change.
During the horse race, Tian Ji actually didn’t win in the end, but just risked big things for the sake of small things. When we decide upon an action, we must think if doing that is worthy, or just “penny wise and pound foolish”. In the story, Tian Ji very ‘wisely’ listened to Sun Bin’s advice and won over the king of Qi. However, the consequences for Tian Ji in the end were not worth winning a game. The king of Qi invited Tian Ji, hoping for a fun and happy game. However, just because of losing against the king in the first round, Tian Ji decided to beat him, embarrassing the king in front of everybody. Tian Ji took it too far, and the king got angry and sent people to catch Tian Ji, planning to kill him. In the end, Tian Ji had no choice but to run from his country and settle in a faraway area. Unlike Tian Ji, we should always think before we act, otherwise, we might lose the greater for the less. Sometimes, when we are doing something, we might not think about if doing this is wise or not. Tian Ji did win the horse race, but in the end, his consequences were a lot more severe than winning a game.
TIAN JI HORSE RACING talked about how Tian Ji won the horse race against the king of Qi, whose horses were always slightly better than that of Tian Ji. While most people might think that Tian Ji was very wise, his strategy is unfair toward the king. The rules of the horse racing game were unfair because any strategy could be used to let one participant win. Meanwhile, Tian Ji himself was dishonest during the game. He sneakily changed the orders of the horses without the king’s knowing, and didn’t say a word. But in the end, Tian Ji faced worse consequences just because of winning a game. The king invited Tian Ji for them to have fun, but Tian Ji “lost a pound for a penny”, and had to run to another country for his life’s sake.
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