After Confucius was driven out of the State of Song by Huan Tui (a high-ranking official of Song), he became separated from his disciples on the way to the State of Zheng and stood alone at the eastern gate of the outer city waiting for them. Having endured exposure to the elements and risked his life traveling for days, Confucius looked quite disheveled, appearing from a distance like a poor, frustrated, and dejected old man.
The disciples could not find their teacher and grew very anxious. Zi Gong (a skilled speaker and disciple of Confucius) asked everyone he met about his master’s whereabouts. A man from the State of Zheng half-jokingly told him: “There is a man standing by the East Gate, nine feet six inches tall, with long and level eye sockets and a broad forehead. His forehead resembles that of ancient Yao (a legendary sage-king), his neck resembles that of Gao Yao (a famous judge from Yao’s time), his shoulders resemble those of Zi Chan (a renowned statesman of Zheng State), yet from the waist down he is three inches shorter than Yu the Great (a legendary founder of the Xia dynasty). Though this man appears dignified, he looks utterly exhausted and listless, appearing quite disheveled, like a stray dog that has lost its master and has no home to return to. Could this be your teacher?”
Upon hearing this, Zigong (a quick-witted disciple of Confucius) immediately realized that the person described was likely the teacher he had been searching for, and rushed to the location mentioned by the man, finally finding Confucius. After Zigong repeated the words of the man from the State of Zheng to his teacher, Confucius listened and then said with a cheerful smile, "I dare not claim to resemble the ancient sages, but his comparison of me to a homeless stray dog is quite fitting, quite fitting!" Having endured repeated setbacks and blows, and finding himself in such a destitute and difficult situation, Confucius not only maintained his composure in the face of others' mockery but also displayed a detached and transcendent spirit by referring to himself as a "homeless stray dog." Such a sage's breadth of mind is truly moving and admirable, yet the sense of desolation within it is also deeply poignant.
After arriving in the State of Zheng, Confucius found the local music to be nothing but decadent tunes, and the social atmosphere naturally deteriorated as well. Compounding this, Zi Chan (a renowned statesman of Zheng) had died young, allowing petty people (Xiaoren) to take power, and Confucius received no hospitality. So the group traveled on to the State of Chen.