始作俑者 — “The originator of a negative trend or harmful practice”

This idiom comes from 'Mencius, King Hui of Liang Part I'. Confucius once said: 'The one who first made burial figurines (yong), will he not have descendants? Because they resembled humans and were used for burial.'

During the Warring States period, Mencius was discussing the art of governance with King Hui of Liang. Mencius asked the King, 'Is there any difference between killing someone with a club and killing someone with a knife?' King Hui replied, 'No difference.' Mencius then asked, 'Is there any difference between killing someone with a knife and causing their death through unjust governance?' King Hui again said, 'No difference.'

Mencius continued, 'Now, your Majesty's kitchen is full of rich meat, and your stables are full of strong horses, yet the common people have hungry looks, and those who starve to death lie in the wilderness. This is like the authorities leading wild beasts to devour people! Your Majesty, consider, if even beasts devouring each other is detestable, then how can authorities, who lead beasts to eat people, be good parents to their people?'

Confucius once said, the one who first started making human-shaped burial figurines (yong), he would surely have no descendants! Look, if even using human-like clay figures for burial is considered inappropriate, how much worse is it to allow the common people to starve to death?'

Based on Confucius's words, 'The one who first made burial figurines, will he not have descendants?', later generations adopted '始作俑者' as an idiom, referring to the first person to do something bad or the founder of a negative trend.