Comments on the Article “Burnt Brick Soil Can Substitute for Cement” (January 9, 1958) To Qiaomu [1]: The news item about using powdered burnt brick as a substitute for cement [2] may be reprinted and broadcast. Mao Zedong, December [3] 9th. Printed from the manuscript. Notes [1] Qiaomu refers to Hu Qiaomu, who at that time served as an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and as Mao Zedong’s secretary. [2] This refers to the article “Burnt Brick Soil Can Substitute for Cement,” published in the Guangxi Daily on January 8, 1958. The article described how Nankang Township in Heng County, Guangxi Province, had crushed baked bricks into powder to use in place of cement, mixing it with lime and river sand, thereby addressing a shortage of cement during water conservancy projects. On January 14, 1958, the People’s Daily reprinted the article under the title “Powdered Burnt Brick Can Substitute for Cement.” [3] There is an error in the month indicated here; it should read January.