Why were Chinese students required to perform manual labor before attending university?

During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), the requirement for students to perform manual labor before attending university was part of a broader effort to make the Chinese educational system less elitist.12

The policy was designed to reduce the "three major differences"—specifically the gap between intellectual and manual labor, as well as the divide between urban and rural populations. Mao Zedong asserted that the intelligentsia could only overcome the perceived harmful effects of a "bourgeois-dominated" education by identifying with the labouring masses through direct engagement in agricultural and industrial production.123

By requiring youths to engage in manual labor, the state aimed to instill revolutionary values, reduce "bureaucratic airs," and ensure that students remained connected to the working class rather than becoming an isolated, academic elite. Consequently, admission to universities during this period shifted away from competitive examinations toward recommendations based on a student's work unit and their commitment to these revolutionary ideals.12