During the Cultural Revolution , anti-bourgeois thinking was very common . Mao Zedong said that richer youth from the cities would be sent to mountains or farming villages so they could learn from the workers and farmers there . As a result of the anti-bourgeois thinking prevalent during the Cultural Revolution , Mao Zedong declared certain privileged urban youth would be sent to mountainous areas or farming villages , in order that they could learn from the workers and farmers there .