"[4]: 151 Recalling the experience of the revolutionary base areas during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao wrote that the People's Liberation Army should not only focus on military matters, but should serve as a broader school which would provide opportunities for political study, agricultural work, and mass production.
[3]: 269 According to Mao, workers should take production as their first priority but should likewise be trained in military affairs and culture, and should take an active role in political matters such as the Four Clean-ups Movement.
[3]: 269 Farmers and students should likewise be involved in broader matters than agricultural production and traditional academic study.
[6]: 371 Generally, those assigned to May Seventh Cadre Schools spent six months to two years at these rural communes.
[6]: 345 Historian Maurice Meisner writes, "Tilling virgin lands and living a spartan life for several years, it was hoped, would cure them of their bureaucratic habits before they were returned to their official posts.
[1]: 35–36 After 1969, May Seventh Cadre Schools began placing an increased emphasis on the study of communist doctrine.
[1]: 37 In the 1970s, debates occurred over how to balance book learning and manual labor at May Seventh Cadre Schools.