Literal Meaning: drive one’s own horses and go on different ways

Metaphorical Meaning: somebody quits partnership with the others or retreats from an association.

In the period of South and North Dynasties (420 – 589), there was a man named Yuan Qi in the State of North Wei. This man had much talent and made a lot of contributions to the country. The emperor regarded highly of him and entitled him the Duke of Hejian Area (present Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin). He had a son named Yuan Zhi, who had succeeded his talent. Yuan Zhi read a lot of books and had sufficient knowledge. The emperor also appreciated him a lot and appointed him as the ruler of Luoyang (present Luoyang, Henan). Before long, the emperor adopted the suggestion from Li Biao who was holding the position of chief discipline inspection official and relocated the capital of North Wei to Luoyang. In that way, Quan Zhi became the “mayor of capital city”. He counted on his talent and looked down upon the senior officials and nobles with less knowledge.

One day, Yuan Zhi went out to enjoy himself. Accidentally he saw Li Biao’s carriage come from the opposite side. By rights, Yuan Zhi’s official rank was lower than Li Biao’s and he should give way to Li Biao. But he always looked down upon Li Biao and refused to make way for him. This certainly angered Li Biao and he reproved Yuan Zhi: “I am ranked much higher than you. Why don’t you make way for me?” Yuan Zhi replied: “I am the prefecture of Luoyang. You are just a resident in Luoyang. How can a prefecture give way to a resident?” They quarreled with each other and didn’t seek compromise. So they went to the emperor to reason things out. After knowing the detail of what happened, the emperor thought that their reasons were both right. So he said: “Luoyang is my capital and both of you are my officials. Why don’t you drive your own horses and go on different ways?”