Idioms Lesson 45 Give up halfway 半途而废

Give up halfway

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD), there was a man called Yue Yangzi. Encouraged by his wife, he left home to visit scholars and enrich his knowledge.

A year later, he came back home suddenly.

"Why have you returned?" asked his wife in surprise, "You've only spent one year studying with scholars."

"I come back because I missed you very much," Yue Yangzi replied.

Without saying anything, his wife took a pair of scissors and went to the loom at which she had worked. Pointing at the half-done brocade, she proclaimed, "This brocade is woven from the finest silk. I wove one strand after another to produce the brocade. Now if I cut it, all my previous work will be wasted. It's the same with your studies. Now, you've stopped halfway. Isn't it the same as cutting the brocade on the loom?"

Deeply moved by what she said, Yue Yangzi again left home to continue his studies.

Several years later, he finished his studies and became a learned man.

bàn tú ér fèi
半途而废

       东汉时，有个名叫乐羊子的人，在妻子的鼓励下，出远门拜师求学。

       一年后，乐羊子突然回到家中。

       他的妻子很惊讶地问：“你怎么回来了？你才和那些学者学了一年呀！”

       乐羊子说：“我太想你了，所以回来看看。”

       他的妻子听了之后，二话不说，拿起把剪刀走到她的织布机前，指着那块已经完成了一半的锦缎说：“这块锦缎用的是最好的丝，我一丝丝的累积来织成这锦缎。如果我现在把它剪断，就等于前功尽弃。你求学也是这样，如果现在停止，和剪断织布机上的锦缎有什么区别？”

       乐羊子被妻子的话深深感动，于是立刻离开家，继续拜师求学。

       几年后，乐洋子终于完成学业，成为一个博学的人。

shàn shǐ shàn zhōng
善始善终
begin well and end well; stick it out; see sth. through
tāo tāo bù jué
滔滔不绝
words tumble out in a flood; pour out words in a steady flow

kǎn kǎn ér tán
侃侃而谈
speak with ease and assurance; speak freely and frankly

xīn xīn xiāng yìn
心心相印
have heart-to-heart communio with each other; share the same feeling; have mutual love and affinity; show mutual understanding and attraction

dà hǎo hé shān
大好河山
beautiful rivers and mountains of a country; one's beloved motherland

shān míng shuǐ xiù / shān qīng shuǐ xiù
山明水秀 / 山清水秀
bright mountains and limpid waters; green hills and clear waters; beautiful scenery