夺胎换骨 — “Seize a fetus and change bones”
夺胎换骨 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to creatively adapt and transform existing ideas or works, absorbing their essence without mere imitation, resulting in something original and superior; to infuse new life into old forms or concepts”. Literally, “seize a fetus and change bones”.
夺胎换骨 Pronunciation and Pinyin
夺胎换骨 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 夺胎换骨
Origin and Story of 夺胎换骨
The idiom "Duo Tai Huan Gu" (夺胎换骨) originally stems from Daoist philosophy, referring to the process of achieving immortality by "seizing a new body and changing one's mortal bones" after consuming powerful elixirs. Later, ancient Chinese literati adopted this concept to describe a method of literary creation.
The renowned poet Huang Tingjian further elaborated on this, distinguishing between "Huan Gu Fa" (换骨法, bone-changing method) – which meant expressing old ideas in one's own words, and "Duo Tai Fa" (夺胎法, fetus-seizing method) – which involved deeply studying the original meaning of ancient texts and elaborating upon them to create something new.
In essence, it implies a transformative creative process where one does not merely imitate predecessors but rather absorbs their essence, reinterprets it, and infuses it with new life and originality, akin to "touching iron and turning it into gold".
Idioms Related to 夺胎换骨
Synonyms of 夺胎换骨
More idioms starting with 夺
- duó夺rén人zhī之ài爱snatch away what another cherishes
- duó夺rén人suǒ所hào好Seize what another person likes
- duó夺qí其tán谈jīng经prevail over others in a debate
- duó夺xí席tán谈jīng经dominate a discussion with superior argument
- duó夺kuàng眶ér而chū出tears gush from eyes
- duó夺jǐn锦cái才outstanding talent that surpasses others
- duó夺mén门ér而chū出rush out the door
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Open the tool →Questions about 夺胎换骨
What does 夺胎换骨 mean?
夺胎换骨 (duó tāi huàn gǔ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to creatively adapt and transform existing ideas or works, absorbing their essence without mere imitation, resulting in something original and superior; to infuse new life into old forms or concepts”.
How do you pronounce 夺胎换骨?
夺胎换骨 is pronounced duó tāi huàn gǔ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 夺胎换骨 literally mean?
Literally, 夺胎换骨 means “seize a fetus and change bones”. It is used to mean “to creatively adapt and transform existing ideas or works, absorbing their essence without mere imitation, resulting in something original and superior; to infuse new life into old forms or concepts”.
Where does 夺胎换骨 come from?
夺胎换骨 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 夺胎换骨?
本为道家语，指夺人之胎以转生，易去凡骨为仙骨。后比喻学习前人不露痕迹，并能创新。