Nüshu

The nüshu (in Mandarin: 女書/女书 nǚshū , “writing of the women”) was a Written form, exclusively used by the Femme S of the county of Jiangyong, in the province of the Hunan in China.

This writing is disappeared today after the death, the September 20th 2004, of Yang Huanyi, the last woman knowing to use it.

Presentation

Contrary to what was regularly known as in the media after the death of Yang Huanyi, the nüshu is not a Langue but a way of writing the Mandarin in an incomprehensible way with the men who did not learn it. It should be noted that the nüshu constitutes a Syllabaire and not a writing Logographique. So some of the seven hundred Graphème S approximately that account this writing are freely inspired by the usual Sinogramme S, others are entirely invented.

There are few writings in nüshu because the Manuscrit S were burned or buried with their auteures. A Dictionnaire of thousand eight hundred characters nüshu has just been published by Zhou Shuoyi, the first man to have learned the nüshu . An exposure took place with Beijing in April 2004, showing writings as well as handkerchiefs, aprons, scarves and other objects decorated with penmanship S in nüshu .

See too

Languages in danger (although the nüshu is not a language)
Hiragana, one of the systems of writings of Japanese, also spelling-book, at the origin primarily used by the women
Sinogramme

External bonds

Site devoted to the '' nüshu ''
Translation of an article of the Italian newspaper '' Repubblica '' on the Chronic '' nüshu ''
“a language made by the women and for the women” of the '' International Courrier ''
Exposure to Beijing
Message on the list '' Linguist ''

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