Professor's work preserves script created by women

In her retirement, Professor Zhao Liming of Tsinghua University has continued her passionate research on Nvshu, or women's script, the world's only surviving script exclusively created and used by women. At 78, she remains energetic when speaking about the writing system she has devoted over four decades to preserving.

In 1988, Zhao started teaching at Tsinghua's Department of Chinese Language and Literature after earning a doctorate in historical philology at Central China Normal University. It was during the 1980s that she first encountered Nvshu, a delicate, slanted script consisting of dots and arcs, used by women in Jiangyong county, Hunan province.

At a time when formal education was largely reserved for men, women in Jiangyong developed Nvshu as their own written medium. While men used standard Chinese characters, women communicated among themselves using this unique script, even calling themselves "gentlewomen" in their writings.

Zhao began field research in Jiang-yong in 1985. With limited funding, she traveled on hard-seat trains and trekked through remote mountainous areas, driven by a determination to document the script before it vanished. Her investigations revealed that Nvshu was not, as some speculated, related to Miao or Yao ethnic scripts, but a local variant derived from Mandarin, confined to a small area — a "script island".

During the initial investigation, Zhao did the research mostly by traveling to any place that had information about the script. "We language researchers often travel over several mountains and valleys to trace a single note of language," she said.

The work was urgent. Zhao recalled receiving a letter from an elder Nvshu inheritor — Yi Nianhua, who suffered asthma — in the early 1990s, pleading for help. By the time Zhao reached Jiangyong with 10 bottles of asthma spray, Yi had already passed away two days earlier. Such losses intensified Zhao's resolve to preserve the script before it disappeared entirely.

Nvshu writings were meant to "die with their owner". Out of deep attachment to their creations, practitioners traditionally had most of their works buried or cremated with them as companions on their final journey, bequeathing only a few pieces to their relatives. Therefore, Zhao was very anxious about saving the scripts from extinction.

With support from Tsinghua University and fellow researchers, Zhao compiled and published a book on Nvshu in 1992, followed by an even more comprehensive collection years later. She also led efforts to develop a digital Nvshu character set and successfully lobbied for its inclusion in the International Unicode Standard in 2015.

According to Zhao, Nvshu represents a unique form of "Eastern feminism". It did not confront the patriarchal system directly, but offered women a private outlet for self-expression, emotional support and autobiographical writing. Through Nvshu, women recorded their sorrows, dreams and local events, creating a literary tradition of their own, she said.

Though the era of natural Nvshu transmission ended with the death of its last traditional inheritor in 2004, Zhao said she believes the script's legacy endures. Today, Nvshu has gained global attention and inspired new generations. It has evolved from a hidden women's script into a symbol of female resilience and cultural identity.

"Nvshu was like a meteor — it shone brightly and fulfilled its mission," Zhao said. "Now, women have access to education and can travel freely. Nvshu's initial purpose may be complete, but its spirit lives on."

Throughout its history, Nvshu has always been an open and accessible script, in no way a secret or mysterious code, Zhao said. This public nature is precisely what makes it so valuable. In its local context, activities like reading and singing Nvshu from fans or papers were conducted openly. There never existed any secret "women's society", she said.

Even in retirement, Zhao continues to study and promote Nvshu, driven by a belief in its beauty and historical significance.