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Nushu, originally meaning 'women language', it's believed to be the last remain of a four thousand years old language spoken China: Henzi. The Oracle Bone script, found in 1899, is the most ancient form this type of language. The inscriptions show a well-developed writing system belonging to the Shang Dynasty period (12001050 BC).

China has traditionally been a male-dominated society, where men were allowed to take decision of every aspect of life and woman were relegated to household duties. In this context, women taught themselves how to write simply by watching over their husbands, brothers and sons, while they were practicing calligraphy. They memorized some characters and noted them down giving them their own meaning and deforming them in the process thus creating a totally new language.

Conceived originally as a written language; Nushu soon evolved into a more complex oral idiom. This happened mostly because while men were labouring the farms, the females used to be kept together and, while performing household duties -among which sewing textiles, making shoes, embroidery etc were but just a few-; they also sang songs of joy, sorrow and farewells, composed poems, talked about politics and to taught each other the language that was secretly being passed on among women.

At first, Nushu had about 550 characters but it grew as it spread to other provinces and was influenced by other dialects, totalling an amount of one thousand and five hundred characters. It's written in columns and it reads from top to bottom and from right to left. Forms of written Nushu have been found in skilfully and colourfully decorated paper fans, in handkerchiefs and in booklets with beautiful flower patterns. These texts covered every subject except finance; from which is understood that was status didn't allowed her to handle.

When girls came of age, they were forced marry men they've never met before. However, in order to help young brides in moments of despair, the Third Day Missives, small booklets made out of cloth, were given to the wives in the third day of their marriage by their mothers and their Jiebai Zimei or sworn sisters. Sworn sisters were very close friends with strong bonds in their special friendships that normally would last throughout the lifetime; exchanging correspondence often, secretly, by the means of the little books, fans, handkerchiefs, when they had a chance to gather together in public events like village festivals. The Jiebai Zimei custom was vast and crucial network of female support in the face of male domination.

For millenniums, the language carried on and was passed unnoticed under the eye of men from one generation to the next. It was brought to the public's attention for the first time in the early fifties; an attempt of cultural preservation that resulted in his author being sent away to a 'rehabilitation program'. During 1966-76 Chinese Cultural Revolution woman that new Nushu were seized and protested against and criticized, and many of their cultural tradition was confiscated and burned.

Several attempts have being made by the local authorities and organizations to preserve Nushu, with little or no success, due to the luck of interest of the young, who no longer see the need to keep secrets from their families.

The last Nushu transmitter was Yang Huanyi, who died in September 2004, age 98. She learned the language in her childhood and could express herself and create new compositions using that language. Although nobody else is able to do so and the language is now officially dead; six other people remain who are still able to translate Nushu. Their work and effort it's extremely valuable to help understand Nushu tradition; a great legacy for the future generations.

Learn more about this author, Carolina Uribe.
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