Nüshu Character 1B246

Its sound belongs in a text; it is not an English label.

Women devised Nüshu to write the local Chinese dialect spoken in Jiangyong, Hunan, usually one syllable per sign. One sign can represent several homophones, different words with the same sound, so nearby text clarifies the intended word. Its shapes derive from Chinese character forms, but it is a separate writing system.

When did Nüshu first enter the historical record?

The oldest known object is a coin from the Taiping era (1851–1864).

The coin’s inscription says women across the world are one family; the earliest documentary description dates to 1933. Women used Nüshu for songs, life stories, letters between sworn sisters (friends who pledged sisterhood), and wedding booklets of good wishes for brides. Rediscovered in 1982, the script entered China’s national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.