Making continuous efforts to strengthen oneself
This idiom first appeared in Zhou Yi (The Book of Changes). It means that one should make continuous efforts to improve and strengthen oneself. The ancient Chinese believed that the heavenly bodies follow their own nature and keep moving vigorously in an unending cycle. A man of virtue, who follows the law of heaven, should act on his own initiative and work diligently to strengthen himself. This is the Chinese view on self-development, based on the movement of the heavenly bodies.
Xi Jinping has on many occasions talked about the need for constant self-improvement. For instance, he emphasized on an inspecting visit to Peking University in May 2014, "As heaven changes through movement, a gentleman makes unremitting efforts to perfect himself." Addressing the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in December 2017, he said that the Chinese people have never yielded to fate; rather they have risen up and acted in a long-term struggle, so as to embark today on a broad road toward national rejuvenation.
自强不息
“自强不息”出自《周易》，意为自身努力向上，强大自己，永不懈怠。古人认为，天体出于自身的本性而运行，刚健有力，周而复始，一往无前从不停息。君子取法于“天”，也应该发挥自己的主动性、能动性，勤勉不懈、奋发进取，这是中国人参照天体运行状态梳理的自身理想。
中共十八大以来，习近平曾在多个场合多次提及“自强不息”。如2014年5月，习近平考察北京大学时强调，“天行健，君子以自强不息”；2017年12月，习近平在中国共产党与世界政党高层对话会上发表的主旨讲话中指出，中国人民没有向命运屈服，而是奋起抗争、自强不息，经过长期奋斗，而今走上了实现中华民族伟大复兴的康庄大道。