Using a traditional or familiar form to present new content or ideas. It can be positive (preserving the familiar while innovating) or negative (superficially new but actually old).
This saying is used in politics, business, and culture to describe reforms that keep the outer structure but change the substance. It parallels the Western phrase 'old wine in a new bottle' but with reversed roles.
Chinese people use this to describe the tension between tradition and innovation. It signals an awareness that change can be superficial, and that true reform requires changing the substance, not just the form.
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