始作俑者

Chinese

		begin	to make tomb figurines; to originate an immoral practice; to set a bad example	‑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 tomb figurines”.

Etymology

From Mencius (《孟子·梁惠王上》):

仲尼曰：『始作俑者，其無後乎！』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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仲尼曰：『始作俑者，其无后乎！』 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zhòngní yuē: ‘Shǐ zuò yǒng zhě, qí wúhòu hū!’ [Pinyin]

Zhong Ni said, "Was he not without posterity who first made wooden images to bury with the dead?"

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shǐzuòyǒngzhě

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˇ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄩㄥˇ ㄓㄜˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ci² zok³ jung² ze²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shǐzuòyǒngzhě [Phonetic: shǐzuòyóngzhě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˇ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄩㄥˇ ㄓㄜˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shǐhzuòyǒngjhě
    • Wade–Giles: shih³-tso⁴-yung³-chê³
    • Yale: shř-dzwò-yǔng-jě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyytzuohyeongjee
    • Palladius: шицзоюнчжэ (šiczojunčžɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ jʊŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ci² zok³ jung² ze²
    • Yale: chí jok yúng jé
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsi² dzok⁸ jung² dze²
    • Guangdong Romanization: qi² zog³ yung² zé²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiː³⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ jʊŋ³⁵ t͡sɛː³⁵/

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