逐鹿中原

Origin and story

The deer-hunt image for competing over political power appears in the Shiji's biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin. Kuai Tong defends his earlier advice to Han Xin by saying that Qin had lost its deer and everyone under heaven was pursuing it: the successful hunter was not predetermined. The deer is a metaphor for rule over the realm, not an animal involved in an actual hunt.

逐鹿中原 combines this established image with the Central Plains, the traditional heartland of political competition. The four-character expression describes contenders struggling for supremacy; it can now be extended to businesses or other rivals competing for a leading position.