image text translation
Nushu
Language writing system
{
Overview
Nushuis a syllabic script derived from Chinese
characters that was used by ethnic Yao women for
several centuries in
Jiangyong;
a
county within the
southern Chinese province of Hunan Wikipedia
Nushu is a writing system used by women of China’s Yao ethnic minority in Jiangyong County, Hunan Province, for centuries.
The Chinese character for it is 女書, but the Chinese pronunciation is Nushu.
This was actually a password.
At the time, women were prohibited from engaging in activities outside the home.
image text translation
dance
For Yao women to chat with other women
Inside the house, people embroidered nushu on handkerchiefs, scarves, belts, and fans and exchanged them with each other.
image text translation
Nushu letters written on a fan
image text translation
*
(4*top
Fabrics embroidered with nushu
image text translation
4
chuck
$
#;
&
%
#
6
}
‘
6(4
;
Y^k%
center’
three
all
#
It is said that this writing system was passed down by mothers secretly teaching their daughters how to embroider nushu.
Scholars believe that Nushu originated in the 11th century during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
From then on, it was kept a secret from men for centuries.
It became known only in the 1980s
It is said that Chinese public security even suspected it to be a text message from a spy.
image text translation
In the 1980s, when it first received world attention,
In a Yao village where about 200 people lived
There were only three Nushu text users left,
The last survivor passed away in 2004 at the age of 98.
In the past, it was not socially acceptable for Yao women to talk openly about the hardships of their lives.
Therefore, it is said that the main content expressed in Nushu was about personal regret or marital dissatisfaction.
This is understandable, as the recipients of Nushu are mostly local friends who got married and left their parents’ homes.