All creative literary expressions draw on works of earlier writers. This concept, put forward by Huang Tingjian ( 1045-1105 ), a Northern Song literati, states that literary creativity should be based on extensive reading of works of earlier writers. At the same time, one should turn iron into gold by making creative use of the expressions and meanings of such works. The relationship between inheritance and origin in works is generally reflected in the use of allusions and the adaptation of expressions, phrases and imagery from earlier works. However, one should not just quote expressions, phrases and imagery from these works, nor blindly copy them, so as not to fall into the trap of retrogression. Therefore, Huang's concept needs to be handled carefully.

Creating your own expressions and phrases is most demanding. In Du Fu’s poems and Han Yu’s essays, there is not a single word that is without a source. (Huang Tingjian: A Letter of Response to Hong Jufu)

However, I can see that not a single word in Song Qi’s modern-style poems is without an original source. His poems are so well-crafted and balanced in structure, which shows that he could not have written them if he had not read a lot of books, and his poems are far beyond the ability of the literati of the Song Dynasty after it moved south. (Wang Shizhen: Notes from the Orchid Studio)