After resigning from his official position, Confucius led his disciples on a long journey through various states, a process that lasted a total of fourteen years.
When Confucius and his entourage left the capital city of Qufu and stopped to lodge at a place called Tun, the Grand Master Shi Ji came to see them off, saying, "Master, you have committed no offense." The implication was: then why are you resigning and even leaving this state?
This time, the problem lay with those in power, but Confucius found it inconvenient to explain the reasons in detail. So he said, "Let me sing you a song." As he played the qin (a Chinese zither), he sang a short song: "From the words of those women, one can be driven into exile; through their entreaties, one can meet with ruin and death. So let me wander at ease, to while away the remaining years." The meaning was that listening to women’s words could cause one to lose trusted followers, and being too close to women could lead to failure and ruin. Under such circumstances, one should simply leave and spend the rest of one’s days in leisurely comfort.
After Shi Ji returned to the capital, Ji Huanzi asked what Confucius had said before leaving, so Shi Ji sang the song again. Ji Huanzi, being a perceptive man, understood its meaning immediately and sighed deeply, saying, "The Master is blaming me—it is because I accepted the female musicians from Qi." He felt some regret over Confucius abandoning his official post and leaving Lu, but was unwilling to urge him to stay. Confucius and his disciples traveled slowly, stopping frequently, and the students complained that they were moving too slowly. Confucius said, "We travel slowly—this is the proper attitude for leaving one's homeland."