📖 Meaning
To stir up trouble or provoke conflict over nothing. It describes someone who deliberately creates disputes, spreads gossip, or meddles in others' business to cause discord.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a 1936 essay by Lu Xun in his collection 'Qiejieting Zawen Mobian,' where he criticized certain writers for bringing petty family quarrels into the literary world. Lu Xun observed that instead of focusing on grand issues, they resorted to '嘁嘁嚓嚓，招是生非，搬弄口舌' (whispering, stirring up trouble, and wagging their tongues), never looking at the bigger picture.
💡 Example Usage
他整天在办公室招是生非，搞得大家都不安宁。
He spends all day stirring up trouble in the office, making everyone uneasy.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 招是生非
- Pinyin: zhāo shì shēng fēi
- Literal Translation: provoke, affairs, generate, trouble
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4