Tian Ji's Horse Racing Strategy

In ancient times in the State of Qi, horse racing was a popular activity for nobles. Tian Ji, a famous general of Qi, enjoyed horse racing very much. He often raced against the king and other high officials, yet he almost always failed the matches.

After Tian Ji lost one race once more, his good friend Sun Bin came to cheer him up. Sun Bin told Tian Ji to bring him to the racecourse for the next game, and he could offer some useful advice.

When they arrived, Sun Bin found that all horses were divided into three groups: upper, middle and lower grades based on their running speed. The match adopted the best-of-three rules. Sadly, every grade of the king’s horses was better than Tian Ji’s. Seeing the big gap, Tian Ji planned to leave before the match ended. But Sun Bin told him there was a clever method to win. Tian Ji then invited the king to hold a new horse race.

With Sun Bin’s smart plan, Tian Ji carried out the special match. He let his lower-grade horse, dressed as the top horse, compete with the king’s upper-grade horse. Naturally, Tian Ji lost the first round. Next, his upper-grade horse raced against the king’s middle horse and gained the victory. In the third match, Tian Ji’s middle-grade horse ran against the king’s lower horse and won again. In the end, Tian Ji won the whole competition by 2 to 1.

The king felt greatly surprised. When Tian Ji told the king about Sun Bin’s wonderful strategy, the king admired Sun Bin a lot and made him his military advisor. The well-known story tells us: we can beat stronger opponents with proper wisdom and smart strategies in competitions.

田忌赛马

古时候的齐国，赛马是贵族们喜爱的活动。齐国名将田忌十分喜欢赛马，他经常和齐王以及其他大臣比赛，但几乎每次都会输。

又一次比赛失利之后，他的好友孙膑前来安慰他。孙膑让田忌下次带自己去赛马场，他可以出谋划策。

到了赛场，孙膑了解到，马匹会按照奔跑速度分为上、中、下三个等级，比赛采用三局两胜制。遗憾的是，齐王每个等级的马都比田忌的马更好。看到巨大差距，田忌打算在比赛结束前离开。但孙膑告诉他有妙计可以取胜。于是田忌向齐王发起新一轮赛马挑战。

按照孙膑的巧计，田忌安排了独特的对阵方式。他让自己的下等马伪装成上等马，和齐王的上等马比拼，这一局田忌不出意料输掉。第二轮，田忌用上等马对战齐王的中等马，取得胜利。第三轮，田忌的中等马对阵齐王的下等马，再次获胜。最终，田忌以 2 比 1 赢下整场比赛。

齐王大为震惊。田忌向齐王说明了孙膑的计策之后，齐王十分赏识孙膑，任命他为军师。这个家喻户晓的故事告诉我们：在竞争中，运用恰当的智慧与策略，就可以战胜更强的对手。

重点短语（附音标）

1. race against /reɪs əˈɡenst/ 与…… 竞赛
2. favorite pastime /ˈfeɪvərɪt ˈpɑːstaɪm/ 喜爱的消遣活动
3. divide…into /dɪˈvaɪd ˈɪntuː/ 把…… 分成
4. according to /əˈkɔːdɪŋ tuː/ 根据，按照
5. best-of-three /ˌbest əv θriː/ 三局两胜
6. dress as /dres æz/ 装扮成；伪装成
7. racecourse /ˈreɪskɔːs/n. 赛马场
8. challenge sb. to sth. /ˈtʃælɪndʒ sb tuː sth/ 向某人发起…… 挑战
9. military advisor /ˈmɪlətri ədˈvaɪzə(r)/ 军师，军事顾问
10. lead to victory /liːd tuː ˈvɪktəri/ 带来胜利
11. based on /beɪst ɒn/ 基于
12. compete with /kəmˈpiːt wɪð/ 和…… 竞争

四、问答

Questions

1. What was the popular pastime among nobles in the State of Qi?
2. How many grades were the horses divided into and what were they?
3. What was the rule of the horse race?
4. How did Tian Ji win the whole race with Sun Bin’s strategy?
5. What lesson can we learn from the story of Tian Ji's Horse Racing Strategy?

Answers

1. Horse racing was the favorite pastime among the nobles in the State of Qi.
2. The horses were divided into three grades. They were upper, middle and lower grades.
3. The competition was a best-of-three match.
4. Tian Ji used his lower-grade horse to race against the king’s upper-grade horse and lost Round 1. Then he used his upper-grade horse against the king’s middle-grade horse to win Round 2. Finally, his middle-grade horse raced against the king’s lower-grade horse and won Round3. He won two rounds out of three and got the final victory.
5. We can learn that wisdom and proper strategies can help us get victory in competitions, even when our conditions are not as good as our opponents.

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