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.
厚积薄发
厚积薄发，即充分地积累、少量地释放，多指学术研究或文艺创作等首先要广泛汲取前人已有的知识和成果，待有了深厚的积累和坚实的基础，再逐步从事学术研究或文艺创作，尝试提出独到见解或在前人的基础上有所创造。也指一个国家、一个企业在某一领域或某一方面经过长期的积累，开始逐渐展现其实力、创新力及开拓新的局面等。其核心内涵是，凡事不可急于求成，应注重积累，充分准备，才能把事情做好。
2014年10月，习近平在文艺工作座谈会上指出，古往今来，文艺巨制无不是厚积薄发的结晶，文艺魅力无不是内在充实的显现。