Haha, Happy's quotation is correct. Yes, Confucius talked about this, but he was strongly OPPOSED to this idea instead of instrumental. The reason why people think like the latter way ist that they couldn't really understand classical Chinese, or quoted his words out of context or even to suit they own purposes (like Anti-Confucianism). Origin 《孟子·梁惠王上》：“仲尼曰：‘始作俑者，其无后乎。’为其象人而用之也。如之何其使斯民饥而死也？” means: Confucius says: "People, who come up with the idea that to bury with wooden figures, should die sonless. {Note: Because this idea will bring an atmosphere of burying with the alive.}" That is because the wooden figures look like human figures (that is not humane [仁] ), not to mention let the common peole die of frost and hunger (that is extremely not humane [仁]). In the other words, both Confucius and Mencius are against with the burial with wooden figures, needless to say with alive people.

1. 在《孟子》中有：《孟子·梁惠王上》：“仲尼曰：‘始作俑者，其无后乎。’为其象人而用之也。” There is some debatable representation in THE WORKS OF MENCIUS：King Hui of Liang, part1: 【[原文及现代汉语译文(直译）]】Original and the translation in Modern Chinese（metaphrase) （孟子） 曰：“庖有肥肉，廐有肥马，民有饥色，野有饿莩，此率兽而食人也。兽相食，且人恶之。为民父母，行政不免于率兽而食人。恶在其为民父母也？仲尼曰：‘始作俑者，其无后乎！’为其象人而用之也。如之何其使斯民饥而死也？” --------------- 孟子说：（您的）厨房里有（很多）肥肉，但是（您的）人民（脸上）却有饥色，野外有饿死的人，这等于是任由野兽吃人（一样的残忍）啊！[I do not think it exact to translate 率as LEAD, and I am inclined to interprete it as 任由(leave, allow, indulge)] 野兽互相残食，人们尚且厌恶。作为（养护）人民的父母（一样的国王 Of course, this theory is nonsense!），您治理国家却不能避免任由野兽吃人（这样的局面出现)，您为民父母的责任在哪里体现出来了呢？孔子说：“最初制作随葬偶人的人，应该没有后代吧！” 【[[ There are diverse possible interpretations on this statement, even if it really had been said by Confucius ]]】因为（制作者）（用偶像）来模仿人的样子，然后用它们（把它们埋葬）。（您）怎么能让这些老百姓饿死呢？ 英译【[English translation---by James Legge]】 Mencius then said, 'In your kitchen there is fat meat; in your stables there are fat horses. But your people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men. Beasts devour one another, and men hate them for doing so. When a prince, being the parent of his people, administers his government so as to be chargeable with leading on beasts to devour men, where is his parental relation to the people? Chung-ni said, 'Was he not without posterity who first made wooden images to bury with the dead? So he said, because that man made the semblances of men, and used them for that purpose - what shall be thought of him who causes his people to die of hunger?'

It is a simple, maybe rough, but reasonable deduction: Premise: All the time Confucius talking about was Ren. If: "其無後乎" means "I damn you have no chlid", which is not Ren, Then: It is not a correct translation. If: "其無後乎" means "Was he not without posterity", which is not against Ren. Then: It is a correct translation.