The phrase appears in Lu Xun's
鲁迅 (Lǔ Xùn) essay 《
科学史教篇》 (Kēxuéshǐ Jiàopiān, 'Lessons from the History of Science', collected in 《
坟》 Fén), criticizing those who praise scientific results while ignoring the rigorous process that produced them —
倒果为因,
莫此为甚 ('a more extreme reversal of cause and effect there could not be').