It means that studying is something that the poor can do, while practicing martial arts is the exclusive preserve of the rich, similar to the current "poor people play cars and rich people play watches".
Although the saying "poor literature and rich military" is a saying handed down from ancient times, it still has considerable significance for today's society.
In the feudal society a long time ago, people were divided into three, six or nine classes. If you want to change the fate of the lower class, you must either neutralize military merit in war and exchange lives for lives; or in peacetime In order to revolutionize his life, he passed the imperial examination organized by the imperial court; then the imperial examination is divided into two types of examinations, the civil examination and the military examination, but why can't he take the military examination if he is poor?
Imagine that you are a poor person who can’t even eat enough, and you often have to eat before you finish. Let’s not talk about whether you are malnourished or not. Even if you are normal, then what equipment do you need for martial arts training? Yeah, equipment, and nutritional supplements, can you get them? Do you think a kid who grew up eating beef and a kid who grew up eating grass are the same weight class? If nutrition cannot keep up, the physical foundation will naturally be poor.
What about reading? You can be powerless with your hands, you can be powerless when speaking, and it doesn't matter if a gust of Category 6 wind can send you to the west. Anyway, as long as you can still hold a pen and write, you can take the exam, and the cost is very low in comparison. It’s much lower. If you really don’t have money to buy lamp oil, you can still cut a hole in the wall to steal some light at night.
If you still can’t understand it, then use current events as an example! Look at those people who can go to the gym. Which one of them doesn’t have enough to eat or clothing to keep warm? However, the library can accommodate all kinds of people. Regardless of poverty or wealth, everyone can get the knowledge they want from books. When I was delivering food, I once ordered it from the gym. When I went to deliver food, they wouldn't even let me in. But in the library, you can at least enter the lobby.
Now I think you should be able to understand what "poor culture and rich military power" means, right?