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English Translation

to give up halfway

Breaking it down

1. 半: half
2. 途: way, road
3. 而废: and giving up, abandon

Source: Google Image Search

Story in Chinese

战国时期，有一个叫乐羊子的人，离开家到很远的地方去拜师学艺。 一天，他的妻子正在家里织布，乐羊子突然回来了。他的妻子觉得奇怪，便问：你这么快就学完了？乐羊子说：没有，我在外面想家了，所以回来看看。 他的妻子听了以后，拿起剪刀把一块已经织好的布剪成两段，然后对他说：这布是我辛辛苦苦、一点一点织出来的，现在我把它剪断了，就等于以前的时间和辛苦都白费了。 你拜师求学，和我纺线织布是一样的！于是乐羊子离开家继续拜师求学去了。

Source: baike.baidu.com

Story in English

During the Warring States period, there was a man named Le Yangzi who left home to go very far away for an apprenticeship. One day, his wife was weaving at home, and Le Yangzi suddenly came back again. His wife found this strange, and asked: "Did you finish learning this fast?"
Her husband responded: "No, I just felt lonely outside and thought of home, and so I came back again."
When his wife heard this, she took up a pair of scissors and cut a piece of cloth she had just weaved into half. She said: "With much effort did I weave this cloth, bit by bit, and now that I cut it into half, the time and effort I spent was wasted. You trying to find a teacher for an apprenticeship, is just like me spinning and weaving!"
Thus, Le Yangzi left home again to look for a teacher.

Translation by Celine Li

Usage

伟大的人做事决不半途而废。 我们做什么事都不能半途而废。