Nüshu syllable liu44

It marks a Jiangyong syllable, not one fixed word.

One recorded Nüshu reading for 𛅾 is liu44; the digits mark tone in the reading notation. Nüshu adapted shapes from Chinese characters to write local Jiangyong speech chiefly by syllable, so one sign can represent several words that sound alike. The surrounding sentence helps identify the intended word.

What was Nüshu used for?

It carried women’s letters, songs, and life stories.

Nüshu took shape over generations in Jiangyong, Hunan, where women had limited access to formal schooling in Chinese characters. The oldest known Nüshu artifact is a coin found in Nanjing and minted during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864). Its inscription links women around the world as one family.

Traditionally, Nüshu texts included autobiographies, songs, riddles, and letters between sworn sisters—women joined by a friendship pledge. At marriage, a bride received a San Chao Shu (“Three-Day Book”), a cloth-bound collection of poems and songs. Women also wrote Nüshu on fans and embroidered cloth.

By the late twentieth century, very few women remained fluent in Nüshu. In 2017, local preservation work was preparing school materials, giving the script a public heritage life alongside its older community uses.