换骨夺胎 — “Change bones, seize the embryo”

The idiom "换骨夺胎" (huàngǔduótāi) originally stems from a Taoist legend where immortals achieve their status by consuming elixirs that replace their mortal bones and flesh, thus becoming immortal.

Ancient scholars later borrowed this concept to describe a literary technique. Huang Tingjian, a famous Song Dynasty poet, used the term to explain two methods: "换骨法" (changing bones method) involved deeply studying the meaning of ancient texts and then expressing it in one's own language; "夺胎法" (seizing the embryo method) meant delving into the original meaning of ancient works and further elaborating and refining them.

Some also say that by not imitating the ancients word for word, the "夺胎换骨" method can transform iron into gold, meaning to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary through profound creative transformation.