Nüshu
"Nüshu" written in Nüshu.
"Nüshu" written in Nüshu.
Script type
Time period
c. 800 AD[1] – 20 September 2004 AD (death of Yang Huanyi)
Statusextinct
Direction top-to-bottom, right-to-left
RegionJiangyong County
LanguagesXiangnan Tuhua
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Nshu (499), ​Nüshu
Unicode
Unicode alias
Nushu

Nüshu (simplified Chinese: 女书; traditional Chinese: 女書; pinyin: Nǚshū [ny˨˩˨ʂu˦]; lit. 'women's script') is a syllabic script derived from Chinese characters that was used exclusively among ethnic Yao women[2] in Jiangyong County in Hunan province of southern China before going extinct in the 20th century.[3]

Features

Unlike standard written Chinese, which is logographic (each character represents a word or part of a word), Nüshu is phonetic, with each of its approximately 600–700 characters representing a syllable. This is about half the number required to represent all the syllables in Xiangnan Tuhua, as tonal distinctions are frequently ignored, making it "the most revolutionary and thorough simplification of Chinese characters ever attempted".[4] Zhou Shuoyi, described as the only male to have mastered the script, compiled a dictionary listing 1,800 variant characters and allographs.[5]

It has been suggested that Nüshu characters appear to be italic variant forms of Kaishu Chinese characters,[3] as can be seen in the name of the script, though some have been substantially modified to better fit embroidery patterns. The strokes of the characters are in the form of dots, horizontals, virgules, and arcs.[6] The script is traditionally written in vertical columns running from right to left, but in modern contexts it may be written in horizontal lines from left to right, just like modern-day Chinese. Unlike in standard Chinese, writing Nüshu script with very fine, almost threadlike, lines is seen as a mark of fine penmanship.

About half of Nüshu is modified Chinese characters used logographically. In about 100, the entire character is adopted with little change apart from skewing the frame from square to rhomboid, sometimes reversing them (mirror image), and often reducing the number of strokes. Another hundred have been modified in their strokes, but are still easily recognizable, as is nü 'woman' above. About 200 have been greatly modified, but traces of the original Chinese character are still discernible.

The rest of the characters are phonetic. They are either modified characters, as above, or elements extracted from characters. There are used for 130 phonetic values, each used to write on average ten homophonous or nearly homophonous words, though there are allographs as well; women differed on which Chinese character they preferred for a particular phonetic value.[4]

History

Before 1949, Jiangyong County operated under an agrarian economy and women had to abide by patriarchal Confucian practices such as the Three Obediences. Women were confined to the home (through foot binding) and were assigned roles in housework and needlework instead of fieldwork, which allowed the practice of Nüshu to develop. Specifically, unmarried women, also known as "upstairs girls," oftentimes gathered in groups in upstairs chambers to embroider and sing. The practice of singing Nüge (women's song) allowed young women to learn Nüshu.[7][8]

It is not known when Nüshu came into being. The difficulty in dating Nüshu is due to local customs of burning or burying Nüshu texts with their owners and the difficulty in textiles and paper surviving in humid environments.[7][8] However, many of the simplifications found in Nüshu had been in informal use in standard Chinese since the Song and Yuan dynasty (13th–14th century). It seems to have reached its peak during the latter part of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911).[4]

Though a local educated worker at the Jiangyong Cultural Office (Zhou Shuoyi) had collected, studied and translated many Nüshu texts into standard Chinese, he was unable to draw outside attention to the script until a report was submitted to the central government on this subject in 1983.

During the latter part of the 20th century, owing more to wider social, cultural and political changes than the narrow fact of greater access to hanzi literacy, younger girls and women stopped learning Nüshu, and it began falling into disuse, as older users died. The script was suppressed by the Japanese during their invasion of China in the 1930s-40s, because they feared that the Chinese could use it to send secret messages., and also during China's Cultural Revolution (1966–76).The last original writers of the script died in the 1990s (the last one in 2004).

It is no longer customary for women to learn Nüshu, and literacy in Nüshu is now limited to a few scholars who learned it from the last women who were literate in it. However, after Yang Yueqing made a documentary about Nüshu, the government of the People's Republic of China started to popularize the effort to preserve the increasingly endangered script, and some younger women are beginning to learn it.

In the 21st century

Nüshu Garden school, July 2005

Yang Huanyi, an inhabitant of Jiangyong county, Hunan province and the last person proficient in this writing system, died on September 20, 2004, age 98.[9][10]

To preserve Nüshu as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, a Nüshu museum was established in 2002 and "Nüshu transmitters" were created in 2003.[7]

The language and locale have attracted foreign investment building up infrastructure at possible tourist sites and a $209,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to build a Nüshu museum scheduled to open in 2007.[11] However, with the line of transmission now broken, there are fears that the features of the script are being distorted by the effort of marketing it for the tourist industry.

The title of a Nüshu transmitter is given to someone who is proficient in Nüshu writing and singing and needlework, knowledgeable on local customs, practices civil virtues, and loyal to the Center for Nüshu Cultural and Research Administration. They are paid a monthly stipend of 100 RMB (as of 2010) in exchange for creating Nüshu works for the government and providing free copies of Nüshu works to local authorities. While recent academic interest in Nüshu has allowed for efforts in its preservation, it comes with the loss of women's agency over the presentation of their Nüshu works and their inability to directly control who the audience is.[7]

Chinese composer Tan Dun has created a multimedia symphony entitled "Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women" for Harp, Orchestra, and 13 microfilms. Tan Dun spent 5 years conducting field research in Hunan Province, documenting on film the various songs the women use to communicate. Those songs become a 3rd dimension to his symphony, and are projected alongside the orchestra and harp soloist.

Lisa See describes the use of Nüshu among 19th-century women in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Since Nüshu was oftentimes practiced in the private sphere, patriarchal ideas prevented it from being acknowledged in the public domain. These ideas deemed Nüshu irrelevant in the public world due to its perceived importance only being relevant in personal contexts while also asserting that culture in the public sphere was dominated by men. Contemporary artists have attempted to commemorate Nüshu through its "translation." Yuen-yi Lo, a Hong Kong/Macau artist, uses drawings as a way to critique the modern separation between writing and drawing and translate the cultural practice of Nüshu into a visual art practice by and for women. Hong Kong based choreographer Helen Lai uses dance as a medium to critique the patriarchal media representation of Nüshu. She suggests that Nüshu is an innovative art form despite the media portrayal of it being a "secret."[8]

Adoption

The Nüshu script is used to write a distinct local Chinese variety known as Xiangnan Tuhua that is spoken by the Sinicized Yao people of the Xiao River and Yongming River region of northern Jiangyong County, Hunan.[12] This dialect, which differs enough from those of other parts of Hunan that there is little mutual intelligibility, is known to its speakers as [tifɯə] "Dong language". It is written only in the Nüshu script.[13] There are differing opinions on the classification of Xiangnan Tuhua, as it has features of several different Chinese varieties. Some scholars classify it under Xiang Chinese or Pinghua and other scholars consider it a hybrid dialect.[12] In addition to speaking Tuhua, most local people in Jiangyong are bilingual in the Hunan dialect of Southwestern Mandarin, which they use for communication with people from outside the area where Tuhua is spoken, as well as for some formal occasions.[12][14] If Hunan Southwestern Mandarin is written, then it is always written using standard Chinese characters and not with the Nüshu script.[14]

Jiangyong County has a mixed population of Han Chinese and Yao people, but Nüshu is used only to write the local Chinese dialect (Xiangnan Tuhua, 湘南土話), and there are no known examples of the script being used to write the local Yao language.[15]

Works

Nüshu works were a way for women to lament by communicating sorrows and establishing connections with an empathetic community.[7]

A large number of the Nüshu works were "third day missives" (三朝书; 三朝書; sānzhāoshū). They were cloth bound booklets created by laotong, "sworn sisters" (结拜姊妹; 結拜姊妹; jiébàizǐmèi) and mothers and given to their counterpart "sworn sisters" or daughters upon their marriage. They wrote down songs in Nüshu, which were delivered on the third day after the young woman's marriage. This way, they expressed their hopes for the happiness of the young woman who had left the village to be married and their sorrow for being parted from her.[16]

Other works, including poems and lyrics, were handwoven into belts and straps, or embroidered onto everyday items and clothing. Other types of Nüshu works included ballads, autobiographies, biographies, and prayers.[8]

In Unicode

Nüshu is included in the Unicode Standard under the name "Nushu" (because Unicode character names, block names, and script names can only use ASCII letters). 396 Nüshu letters were added to the Nushu block as part of Unicode version 10.0, which was released in June 2017. An iteration mark for Nüshu, U+16FE1 𖿡 NUSHU ITERATION MARK, is in the Ideographic Symbols and Punctuation block.[17]

The Unicode block for Nüshu is U+1B170–U+1B2FF:

Nushu[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+1B17x 𛅰𛅱𛅲𛅳𛅴𛅵𛅶𛅷 𛅸𛅹𛅺𛅻𛅼𛅽𛅾𛅿
U+1B18x 𛆀𛆁𛆂𛆃𛆄𛆅𛆆𛆇 𛆈𛆉𛆊𛆋𛆌𛆍𛆎𛆏
U+1B19x 𛆐𛆑𛆒𛆓𛆔𛆕𛆖𛆗 𛆘𛆙𛆚𛆛𛆜𛆝𛆞𛆟
U+1B1Ax 𛆠𛆡𛆢𛆣𛆤𛆥𛆦𛆧 𛆨𛆩𛆪𛆫𛆬𛆭𛆮𛆯
U+1B1Bx 𛆰𛆱𛆲𛆳𛆴𛆵𛆶𛆷 𛆸𛆹𛆺𛆻𛆼𛆽𛆾𛆿
U+1B1Cx 𛇀𛇁𛇂𛇃𛇄𛇅𛇆𛇇 𛇈𛇉𛇊𛇋𛇌𛇍𛇎𛇏
U+1B1Dx 𛇐𛇑𛇒𛇓𛇔𛇕𛇖𛇗 𛇘𛇙𛇚𛇛𛇜𛇝𛇞𛇟
U+1B1Ex 𛇠𛇡𛇢𛇣𛇤𛇥𛇦𛇧 𛇨𛇩𛇪𛇫𛇬𛇭𛇮𛇯
U+1B1Fx 𛇰𛇱𛇲𛇳𛇴𛇵𛇶𛇷 𛇸𛇹𛇺𛇻𛇼𛇽𛇾𛇿
U+1B20x 𛈀𛈁𛈂𛈃𛈄𛈅𛈆𛈇 𛈈𛈉𛈊𛈋𛈌𛈍𛈎𛈏
U+1B21x 𛈐𛈑𛈒𛈓𛈔𛈕𛈖𛈗 𛈘𛈙𛈚𛈛𛈜𛈝𛈞𛈟
U+1B22x 𛈠𛈡𛈢𛈣𛈤𛈥𛈦𛈧 𛈨𛈩𛈪𛈫𛈬𛈭𛈮𛈯
U+1B23x 𛈰𛈱𛈲𛈳𛈴𛈵𛈶𛈷 𛈸𛈹𛈺𛈻𛈼𛈽𛈾𛈿
U+1B24x 𛉀𛉁𛉂𛉃𛉄𛉅𛉆𛉇 𛉈𛉉𛉊𛉋𛉌𛉍𛉎𛉏
U+1B25x 𛉐𛉑𛉒𛉓𛉔𛉕𛉖𛉗 𛉘𛉙𛉚𛉛𛉜𛉝𛉞𛉟
U+1B26x 𛉠𛉡𛉢𛉣𛉤𛉥𛉦𛉧 𛉨𛉩𛉪𛉫𛉬𛉭𛉮𛉯
U+1B27x 𛉰𛉱𛉲𛉳𛉴𛉵𛉶𛉷 𛉸𛉹𛉺𛉻𛉼𛉽𛉾𛉿
U+1B28x 𛊀𛊁𛊂𛊃𛊄𛊅𛊆𛊇 𛊈𛊉𛊊𛊋𛊌𛊍𛊎𛊏
U+1B29x 𛊐𛊑𛊒𛊓𛊔𛊕𛊖𛊗 𛊘𛊙𛊚𛊛𛊜𛊝𛊞𛊟
U+1B2Ax 𛊠𛊡𛊢𛊣𛊤𛊥𛊦𛊧 𛊨𛊩𛊪𛊫𛊬𛊭𛊮𛊯
U+1B2Bx 𛊰𛊱𛊲𛊳𛊴𛊵𛊶𛊷 𛊸𛊹𛊺𛊻𛊼𛊽𛊾𛊿
U+1B2Cx 𛋀𛋁𛋂𛋃𛋄𛋅𛋆𛋇 𛋈𛋉𛋊𛋋𛋌𛋍𛋎𛋏
U+1B2Dx 𛋐𛋑𛋒𛋓𛋔𛋕𛋖𛋗 𛋘𛋙𛋚𛋛𛋜𛋝𛋞𛋟
U+1B2Ex 𛋠𛋡𛋢𛋣𛋤𛋥𛋦𛋧 𛋨𛋩𛋪𛋫𛋬𛋭𛋮𛋯
U+1B2Fx 𛋰𛋱𛋲𛋳𛋴𛋵𛋶𛋷 𛋸𛋹𛋺𛋻
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nüshu script.

Notes

  1. ↑ Ferrari, Pisana (17 November 2022). "New film celebrates Nüshu, China's secret, female-only language from feudal times. Is it still relevant to women today?". cApStAn. Retrieved 10 January 2024. Nüshu is a writing system created and used exclusively by women which originated in China's remote Jiangyong county, in southern China, most likely around the 9th century.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 Proposal text, slides), 2007-9-17
  4. 1 2 3 Zhao Liming, "The Women's Script of Jiangyong". In Jie Tao, Bijun Zheng, Shirley L. Mow, eds, Holding up half the sky: Chinese women past, present, and future, Feminist Press, 2004, pp. 39–52. ISBN 978-1-55861-465-9
  5. ↑ "Last inheritress of China's female-specific languages dies". News.xinhuanet.com. 23 September 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  6. ↑
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Liu, Fei-wen (2 January 2017). "PRACTICE AND CULTURAL POLITICS OF "WOMEN'S SCRIPT": nüshu as an endangered heritage in contemporary china". Angelaki. 22 (1): 231–246. doi:10.1080/0969725X.2017.1286008. ISSN 0969-725X. S2CID 152043482.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Foster (The University of Southampt, Nicola (2 October 2019). "Translating Nüshu : Drawing Nüshu, Dancing Nüshu". Art in Translation. 11 (4): 393–416. doi:10.1080/17561310.2019.1690294. ISSN 1756-1310. S2CID 219095974.
  9. ↑ "Language dies with woman". London: Observer.guardian.co.uk. 26 September 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  10. ↑ Jon Watts (22 September 2005). "Jon Watts, The forbidden tongue, The Guardian 23 September 2005". Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Ford Gift to Fund Nushu Language Museum". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Zhao 2006, p. 162
  13. ↑ Chiang 1995, p. 20
  14. 1 2 Chiang 1995, p. 22
  15. ↑ Zhao 2006, p. 247
  16. ↑ A language by women, for women, Washington Post, Feb 24, 2004
  17. ↑ "Unicode 10.0.0". Unicode Consortium. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.

References

  • Zhao, Liming 赵丽明 (2006). Nǚshū yòngzì bǐjiào 女书用字比较 [Comparison of the characters used to write Nüshu] (in Chinese). Zhishi Chanquan Chubanshe. ISBN 978-7-80198-261-2.
  • Chiang, William Wei (1995). We two know the script; we have become good friends. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-0013-2.
  • Van Esch (2017). Nǚshū (Women's script). In Rint Sybesma, Wolfgang Behr, Yueguo Gu, Zev Handel, C.-T. James Huang & James Myers (eds.), Encyclopedia of Chinese language and linguistics, vol. III, 262–267. Leiden: Brill.
  • Wilt L. Idema. Heroines of Jiangyong: Chinese Narrative Ballads in Women's Script. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009). ISBN 9780295988412
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