original work; source text
Meanings
2 senses · 7 examplesnoun
original poem in a poetic exchange; the first poem to which others respond
literaryUsed in classical Chinese poetry contexts where one poet writes an original piece and others compose response poems (唱和).
In this set of exchange poems, the first one is the original work, and the rest are all responses.
The poet first wrote the original poem, and friends composed responses following the same rhyme scheme.
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This original poem has been lost, and we can only glimpse its general meaning from the response poems of later generations.
noun
original text; source material used for translation or adaptation
Commonly used in publishing, film, and academic contexts to distinguish the original work from its translations, adaptations, or derivative works.
The original work of this film is a bestselling novel.
When translating, one should try to be faithful to the style of the original work.
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This adapted version made significant changes to the original work.
Please provide the original text or original work of this piece.