The earliest seed is in 《
庄子·
盗跖》 (Zhuāngzǐ · Dào Zhí, 'Zhuangzi: Robber Zhi'),
摇唇鼓舌，
擅生是非 ('wagging lips and drumming tongues, presuming to create right and wrong'). The fixed four-character form
搬弄是非 first appears in the Yuan-dynasty play 《
伍员吹箫》 (Wǔ Yuán Chuī Xiāo) by Li Shouqing: '
他在平公面前，
搬弄我许多事非' ('In front of Duke Ping, he stirred up all kinds of trouble against me').
