Nüshu | the secret language of sworn sisters

Four thousand years ago, in Jiangyong County, Hunan Province, China - women created a language they shared in secret.

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It was here, hidden amongst the rocky slopes and rural river villages where Nüshu was born: the only writing system in the world created and used exclusively by women.

Credit: CPA Mediat Pte Ltd/Alamy

Meaning women’s script in Chinese, Nüshu rose to prominence enabling the ethnic Han, Yao and Miao women who live here a freedom of expression not often found in many communities of the time.

Some experts believe the female-only language dates to the Song dynasty (960-1279) or even the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. The script was passed down from peasant mothers to their daughters and practiced among sisters and friends in feudal-society China during a time when women, were considered inferior, denied education, and often abused.

Many of these women were illiterate, and to learn Nüshu, they would simply practise copying the script as they saw it. Over time, Nüshu gave rise to a distinct female culture that was only revealed to the outside worl in 1980 and still exists today. It was Zhou Shuoyi, who tirelessly translated it and created the first dictionary in 2003.

the secret language of women

Chinese composer Tan Dun created a multimedia symphony entitled "Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women" for Harp, Orchestra, and 13 microfilms. Tan Dun spent five years conducting field research in Hunan Province, documenting on film the various songs the women use to communicate.

Read about it in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, the 2005 novel by Lisa See, which was adapted to a film of the same title.