Nüshu syllable sign liong42

It marks sound; context supplies the word.

“liong42” is its local syllable reading, written with Latin letters. A Nüshu sign can represent homophones—different words with the same sound. Nüshu draws on Chinese character forms but usually records syllables rather than whole words.

A local Jiangyong gazetteer, a book about the area, from the Qing dynasty’s Daoguang reign (1821–1850) records women’s writing; a wedding booklet from 1854 survives. Women with little access to formal schooling used Nüshu for songs, letters, and life stories. Sanzhaoshu (“third-day books”) were wedding wish booklets given to brides three days after marriage. Research brought the practice to wider attention in the 1980s; preservation work followed.