When Confucius left Song state for Zheng state, he walked on a different path with his disciples. A few days later, they arrived in Zheng state one after another. Confucius stood alone at the east gate of Zheng's capital, waiting for his disciples. Zigong and some disciples arrived before him but couldn't find him, so they asked people everywhere. A native told Zigong, "There's an old man at the east gate whose forehead like emperor Yao, neck like the legendary sage Gao Yao, shoulder like Zheng's virtuous prime minister Zichan, below the waist like emperor Yu, but thin and tired like a homeless dog." When Zigong find Confucius, he told him about this. Confucius laughed and said, "I feel honored to be described like those ancient emperors and sages, but I pale in comparison with them. Speaking of the homeless dog, that's really what I looked like then."