Accumulating enough knowledge for future application

This idiom means that one ought to acquire as much knowledge as possible for future application. It is particularly true with academic research or literary and artistic creation. Those who engage in such activities often have to first read and study extensively and draw upon the outcomes of their predecessors, so as to lay a solid foundation that will enable them to raise their own views or create their own works. It is also true with a country or an enterprise: Only after long-term accumulation can they grow strong and be able to break new ground.

One should not be impatient for success. Rather, one should take time accumulating and making preparations, which will prepare the way for success.

At the Forum on Literature and Art held in October 2014, Xi Jinping pointed out that masterpieces in China and the rest of the world, in ancient or modern times, are all outcome of long-term accumulation, and their appeal displays their inner strength.

厚積薄發

厚積薄發，即充分地積累、少量地釋放，多指學術研究或文藝創作等首先要廣泛汲取前人已有的知識和成果，待有了深厚的積累和堅實的基礎，再逐步從事學術研究或文藝創作，嘗試提出獨到見解或在前人的基礎上有所創造。也指一個國家、一個企業在某一領域或某一方面經過長期的積累，開始逐漸展現其實力、創新力及開拓新的局面等。其核心內涵是，凡事不可急于求成，應注重積累，充分準備，才能把事情做好。

2014年10月，習近平在文藝工作座談會上指出，古往今來，文藝巨制無不是厚積薄發的結晶，文藝魅力無不是內在充實的顯現。