前者

qiánzhě
the former (i.e. the one mentioned first)

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 前 qián
  1. front
  2. forward
  3. ahead
  4. first
  5. top (followed by a number)
  6. future
  7. ago
  8. before
  9. BC (e.g. 前293年)
  10. former
  11. formerly
2 者 zhě
  1. (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...
  2. (after a noun) person involved in ...
  3. -er
  4. -ist
  5. (used after a number or 后 hòu or 前 qián to refer to sth mentioned previously)
  6. (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term)
  7. (old) (used at the end of a command)
  8. (old) this