Silencing women and their suffering has been an age old issue and transcends into many times and lands. Women have combated their oppression in a variety of ways, but one of the most intriguing methods women have used to fight oppression is their ability to retain their voice. This was most extraordinarily expressed through the Hunan women in China. Women in feudal China were assigned to arranged
marriages, which were often abusive and brutal in nature. Small feet were a sign of beauty, so they were made to wear bindings on their feet that often compressed their feet to lengths as small as five inches making it nearly impossible to walk. Not only were they crippled physically, but they were crippled socially when they were forbidden to learn Nan Shu which was “Man’s Writing”. In order to endure these harsh and oppressive situations, a group of women calling themselves the "sworn sisters" banded together and developed their own culture and language. This unique dialect of an argued 1,200-7,000 characters called “Nu Shu” which translates into “Women’s Writing”. The language is based on traditional Chinese characters but altered with a wispy and graceful slant as only a woman can create. Nu Shu was sung, written on paper fans, or woven into cloth for more than two centuries to over a millennium, and was used by seven female friends so close they called themselves “sworn sisters”. The writings, or songs were highly secretive and guarded from men but were passed on to their daughters and granddaughters. With secrecy and beauty, they shared their woes, stories, and determination to hold onto their self-respect through: music, poetry, and artful embroideries. When the melody was sung, those who could hear
it came and joined in. Eventually, the men found out about the secret language but they considered it insignificant so they allowed it to survive. This shared language became a way for the women to share their burdens, avoid isolation, and prevent su***de. After the Chinese Revolution, literacy was accepted among women and Nu Shu was not needed or used. Many of the old manuscripts were destroyed due to: fear of the language being discovered, a cultural tradition to burn the manuscripts on the author’s death, and the mission of the Red Guards to destroy old cultures. Today, only a handful of women can still read, sing, and understand it, but the Chinese government has agreed to preserve the ancient language, even though as few as 600-700 characters remain. In the spirit of survival as modeled from their ancestors, younger women are learning to write Nu Shu today in order to preserve its’ existence. With this, our vision is to empower women to develop a sisterhood where a new language is spoken and they
learn to walk in their own shoes of strength and beauty. We accomplish this through partnership and empowerment. This is the NuShu Language.
