Chengyu

半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi)

Characters

半 bàn: Half

途  tú: Way

而 ér: And

废 fèi: Abandoned

Story

During the 漢 Han Dynasty, lived a man named 乐羊子 (Yuè Yángzi) (1).  As a young man, he left his wife at home to study with other scholars.

One year later, he paid his wife a surprise visit.

“Why did you return so soon?” asked his bewildered wife.  Yue Yangzi then replied that he missed her very much.  Upon hearing his answer, she grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the brocade on her loom in half. Now in an angry tone, she exclaimed, “This brocade is made of the finest silk.  I weaved it one thread at a time.  Now that I cut it, I have wasted all my time and effort!  Studying is the same.  If you don’t finish, then it is like cutting this brocade in half.”

Feeling ashamed, Yue Yangzi left home to continue his studies.  It would be another seven years before he returned home.

Lesson

Yue Yangzi had a supportive wife – she encouraged him to plan long-term and finish his studies.  From her advice arised the proverb, 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) – literally, to give up halfway.  Indeed, 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) can be used to describe a “half-hearted” attempt.

Moreover, the story behind 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) along with proverbs such as 悬梁刺股 (xuán liáng cì gǔ) and 凿壁偷光 (záo bì tōu guāng) all exemplify the importance of studying in China.  For over a millennium, the 科舉 Imperial examinations were used to select government officials.  Yue Yangzi was probably studying years just to prepare for these exams.  As described in 悬梁刺股 (xuán liáng cì gǔ), the imperial exams were so gruelling that many have died taking them.

Research

The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember interrupted tasks better than completed ones (2).  In fact, Zeigarnik (1927) herself found that interrupted participants recalled 90% more task details than those who were left undisturbed.  Now, there are two explanations for the Zeigarnik effect.

The first reason is related to motivation.  Zeigarnik (1927) suggested that a “quasi-need” develops within the person to complete the task.  Akin to a build-up of tension, completing the task would release the tension or discharge the quasi-need.  Hence, this tension would remain in interrupted tasks, which would motivate the person to remember the task and attempt it again (2).  Indeed, one study found that the presence of tension during a problem-solving task increased recall of it (3).

In addition, the interruption may act as a recall cue (4).  That is, a natural interruption occurs when the person becomes “stuck” on a problem (4).  This “stuck” state later acts as a cue for memory retrieval.  Indeed, the better ability to retrieve failed problems gives the person a second chance to solve it (4).  Hence, the Zeigarnik effect allows difficult problems to be paused and attempted later.      

It is now clear that Yue Yangzi’s visit may not be harmful to his studies after all – the break would enhance his memory.  Unfortunately, it is likely the Zeigarnik effect excuse would not stop his wife from booting him out.

1. Tan, Jiajian. Hou Hanshu. (Book of Later Han). Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st