To stop or give up halfway
-
Neutral
这项试验一定要搞到底， 不能半途而废 | Zhè xiàng shìyàn yīdìng yào gǎo dàodǐ, bù néng bàntú'érfèi
We must carry the experiment through to the end, not give up halfway
[Source]
他不会辞职，因为他不是个半途而废的人 | Tā bù huì cízhí, yīnwèi tā bù shì gè bàntú'érfèi de rén
He won't resign because he's not a quitter
[Source]
None
None
This is an HSK chengyu
《礼记》(Lǐ Jì, "The Book of Rites"), one of the five classic works of Confucianism
In the Eastern Hàn Dynasty (东汉, 25-220), there lived a man named 乐羊子 (Yuè Yáng Zǐ). One day, 乐羊子 found a piece of gold on the side of the road, and he hurried home and gave it to his wife. His wife scolded him harshly, saying, "Real men would never take something that belonged to another." Her words left 乐羊子 feeling so ashamed that he got rid of the gold, decided to become a scholar, then traveled to a distant location to find someone who would be willing to be his teacher.
A year later, he abandoned his studies and returned home. When his wife saw him, she was bewildered, and she asked how it was that he'd finished his studies so quickly. He replied, "I haven't finished my studies. It's just that I missed home." His wife immediately went over to the loom she'd been working on, picked up some shears, and said sternly, "The silk on this loom comes from silk worms, and the strands were woven together by me, piece by piece, to create fabric. If I were to cut it, all of my previous work would be wasted." She then looked at him pointedly and added, "What would be the difference between me cutting this cloth and you stopping your studies?" 乐羊子 was once again moved by his wife's words, and he returned to his studies for seven years without once returning home.