Nüshu character swe13

This sign writes a spoken syllable; context supplies its word.

The Jiangyong reading of 𛆹 is written swe13. A Nüshu reference table links this sign to several Chinese characters with the same local reading, so surrounding text determines which word is intended.

Women learned Nüshu while sewing and singing

Nüshu means “women’s writing.” It developed among rural women in Jiangyong, Hunan, from Chinese character forms adapted to local speech. For women with little access to formal Chinese-character education, the syllabic script offered a way to write the speech they knew.

Historically in Jiangyong, women learned it while sewing and singing together. They wrote songs, life stories and letters between sworn sisters. Friends also gave a bride a “third-day book,” a booklet of good wishes, three days after her wedding.

The earliest known artifact is a bronze coin-shaped object associated with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864); its inscription says women everywhere belong to one family. It places Nüshu in use by then, but does not date its beginning. By 2024, public classes and male learners were part of its revival, alongside newer poems and greetings.