Women's script compositions in China: Recording collective memories

Abstract

Women's script is the translation of a Chinese term, Nushu. It refers to a script devised and transmitted by communities of women in Jiangyong County located in Hunan province in south China during the late imperial and early modern period. The term also refers to the body of writings recorded in that script, such as letters written to women friends and petitions to local deities. Nushu is regarded as the world's only gender-specific script. It was used only by women in the pre-contemporary period. Nushu was primarily used to forge friendships amongst women living in segregated communities within traditional Chinese society. This study will explore a number of stories recorded in women's scr..