始作俑者

Chinese
begin
 
to regard as; to take (somebody) for; to do
to regard as; to take (somebody) for; to do; to make
 wooden figures buried with the dead ‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does sth)
trad. (始作俑者) 始 作 俑 者
simp. #(始作俑者) 始 作 俑 者
Literally: “the first person who made wooden images to bury with the dead”.

Etymology

From Mencius:

仲尼曰：『始作俑者，其無後乎！』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
仲尼曰：‘始作俑者，其无后乎！’ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE
Zhòngní yuē: ‘Shǐzuòyǒngzhě, qí wúhòu hū!’ [Pinyin]
Zhong Ni said, 'Was he not without posterity who first made wooden images to bury with the dead?'

Pronunciation

Idiom

始作俑者

  1. the initiator of a bad practice; the creator of a bad precedent
  2. the person who started a bad or undesirable event
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