Alla scoperta del nüshu, un linguaggio tutto femminile | Giulia Falcini

Good afternoon.

Today I want to tell you about "Nü shu"

which literally means "women's script".

It's the only
female-only language in the world

and it originated in southern China

around Jiangyong County

in some villages around Jiangyong county.

It's not a surprise if you've
never heard about this script

because even Chinese people don't know it.

I've often been asked
by Chinese and Italian friends

what this language is.

I must say that the reason

and above all I've also been asked

why I knew this
script, given that I'm Italian.

First of all, some preliminary remarks.

I became interested in Chinese language

and I fell in love with it
and with China only by chance.

I'm sure it's also because

I've had a teacher who during classes

who during classes always talked
about China with great passion.

This definitely is essential.

Additionally, being curious
is a key element in order to...

... in order to learn
more and more about it

and also take an interest
in such a mixed country as China is.

Well, once during classes

our teacher very casually
mentioned this phenomenon

which is linguistic,
and above all, cultural.

I immediately thought
that I wanted to know more about it.

I searched for information on the net

but you can't find very much.

It's a very peculiar matter

therefore you can
find very limited information

and mainly in Chinese.

It's almost impossible to find it
in English and even more so in Italian.

My passion has certainly become stronger

when a Chinese friend of mine
who had just got back from China

brought me a dictionary:
Putonghua-Nü shu, that is Chinese-Nü shu.

And I felt like connecting
more deeply with this language.

I felt this language
to be closer, more concrete.

Moreover, there is also a movie

which actually is quite famous.

It's: "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"

written by
a Chinese-American writer, Lisa See.

Given that, I watched this movie
before reading her book

I could become even more interested

in this culture and this language.

In particular, this movie tells the story

of two young girls, of two friends

who live in today's Shangai.

But in parallel, it also tells
the story of two little girls

who live in 19th century China.

What binds them together is the fact that

they've experienced together

the traditional practice of foot-binding

which characterized
that time, unfortunately.

But they're also bound
together by a bond called "Laotong"

which is translated to
English as "sworn sisters".

It was a very close,
traditional and deep bond

it was almost a sort of contract

that was signed by two little
girls belonging to the same village.

Afterwards these little
girls would have lived

most part of their lives together

that is until their marriage.

Since this tradition
is typical of these villages

the movie also mentions Nü shu

as the book does.

A quote from this movie
that impressed me very much is

"They could only write
to each other, it was their only voice".

According to me, this quote

somehow it summarizes the reason why

these women decided to create

women of Yao ethnicity

they decided to create this language.

As we know

during that time in China

women played
a marginal role in society.

They virtually didn't play a role

in the social hierarchy.

Furthermore, once they got married...

... once they got married

they became part of
their husband's family.

So they had to part
from all their loved ones

both family and friends.

As usual, Chinese characters can express
a far more complex concept

even with a single
character, as in this case.

For example, the Chinese
translation for "to get married"

when referred to
women is the character "Jiā",

which associates a woman to her family

that is the new family
she will become part of.

Moreover, women...

... women during that time
were excluded from education

so they couldn't even write,

they couldn't even read

and they spent all their days

taking care of their family

of their children, husband
and doing the housework.

Once they got married,
it was impossible for them

to keep their relationships going.

So in this village
they created this language

made of characters which differ

from the traditional
Chinese ones that we know.

Instead, pronunciation
and grammar were based on local dialect.

Since they were excluded from education

since they were excluded from education

how could they hand it down?

They gathered in special rooms totally
dedicated to them and in these rooms

the eldest of them handed down
this language to the youngest ones.

Also in these rooms

they embroidered
clothes with female characters.

They painted these characters on fans.

They were embroidered also on sheets

on handkerchiefs and belts.

The female characters
were painted also on fans.

It was also a means for women

once they got married

to keep on communicating with each other

by exchanging these artifacts.

While doing manual work,
women chanted songs,

which are called "Nü shu songs".

Therefore, it was
easier for the youngest girls

to keep on practicing
this language or to learn it

if they still were very young.

Well, "Sanzhaoshu" is translated
into English as "Third-Day Book".

They were little books

we can say they were proper little books

made from cloth

that were given to the bride
by her sworn sisters and her mother

three days after her wedding

when the bride was allowed
to be reunited with her family of origin.

In these little books

her sworn sisters
and her mother had written songs

expressing best
wishes for future happiness

but also their sorrow at losing her.

What's interesting is that

these "Third-Day Books" were
left half written by women

because the other half was left blank

so that the bride
could express her feelings.

She could also talk about
the most important events of her life

thus completing this "Third-Day Book".

Furthermore, as to the contents

of these Nü shu songs, as I said earlier

even if the women's condition
was not the best one at that time

however, these songs

even if the melody
often seems a little plaintive

actually the contents
of these songs are not only

unhappy or sad.

Actually, their topics vary a lot.

They can be about
the happiest moments such as birth

or the saddest ones like death

and about ordinary life.

They can also be about harvest

so they can vary a lot.

Lately, in recent times

some Chinese folktales
have been translated into Nü shu.

According to me, this is
a very important aspect

since it underlines that they
want to hand down this language.

This is Nü shu cultural profile.

It includes 2,000 characters.

Each Nü shu character

that is each female character

it is equivalent to
several Chinese characters.

Even if some of them
are not Chinese characters

they can't all be translated into Nü shu

because the characters
that women didn't use

they don't have their
equivalent in this language.

In order to better
understand the linguistic aspects

but also the social aspects

and the ethnographic profile
of this cultural phenomenon

I believe that going where
this language is spoken is essential.

Because otherwise

since information about it is insufficient

and the topic is peculiar

it's almost impossible to fully
understand this phenomenon.

I am lucky
because I went twice to Jiangyong County

and I also visited
"Nü shu places", as locals call them

namely the villages
surrounding this county

which they represent
the birthplace of this phenomenon.

What's interesting is that Jiangyong

that is similar to our small towns

it is very small compared to metropolises.

It has an extremely relaxed lifestyle.

Moreover, it's extremely easy

since virtually there are no foreigners

it's extremely easy to experience
the city context and ask questions.

This was essential to me

because I frequently asked myself this
question, before getting to my destination

before reaching the village, that is

"I wonder if locals"

"prize the cultural value"

"of this language,
that is unique in the world"

and above all "I wonder which is
men's attitude towards this language".

Because there's something
that I want to clarify and specify.

We tend to believe that, since
this is a female-only language

women created this language

to create something behind men's back

but it's not true.

Actually, it was men who

since they had their
characters and their language

they never found
this script interesting, fascinating.

They never believed
it was something to discover.

They never took an interest in it

so it was not women who
created it behind men's back.

As a matter of fact, now

men's attitude towards this language

it is of great interest.

Actually, all locals
believe that Nü shu is something

that characterizes
their country and their city

and they believe it's an
essential element of their culture.

And even men...

I saw them listening

to their wives and to women
in general, showing much interest

while women were singing these songs.

Likewise, now Nü shu is
experiencing a rebirth, a resurgence

to such an extent
that during the early years

of local elementary school

you can take Nü shu classes.

There are lots
of children going to the village

where Nü shu originated

in order to take
special afternoon classes.

What impressed me a lot is that

after explaining
the reason why I was in Jiangyong

all locals, everyone living there

old and young people, men
and women told me with much enthusiasm

that not even they could
write or read female characters

but they could understand them

they could pronounce them.

As I said earlier, this is because

Nü shu is a language where

grammar and pronunciation
are based on local dialect.

Since they highlighted this
aspect with much enthusiasm

I felt that everyone
considered this language

this cultural element to be important.

This happens mainly in the city.

The birthplace of this linguistic
and cultural phenomenon is Pumei Village.

Last year I had the honour
of spending a long time in this village

with one of those women
considered to be Nü shu inheritors.

The local government
instituted a kind of certification

we might call it certification

which it assesses pronunciation

and above all writing

family relationships

as well as the way
village girls learnt this language

so they can get this
certification, this certificate.

In this regard, I observed
a somehow contradictory fact.

I noticed that in such a bucolic place

girls and women are
in competition with each other

because they want their competence
in this language to be recognized.

Actually, we might call it art.

As a matter of fact,
characters are still written

on fans and on several artifacts

which have become a kind of souvenir

and which also represent
an economic income to village people.

This one on the left is the dictionary
that I mentioned earlier: Chinese-Nü shu.

This is the entrance to the village,
from which you can access the museum.

Nü shu museum was built in 2004

by the will of local government.

Building this museum was necessary

also because when women died

everything on which they had embroidered

written or drawn these female characters

was buried according to tradition.

Moreover, in history...

sometimes Nü shu was
considered to be a language

that could hide its meanings,
which shouldn't become known.

Therefore, on these occasions
many of these artifacts were destroyed.

Today, original Nü shu artifacts are rare

and they're all preserved in this museum

that is located in Pumei Village

where Nü shu originated.

Nü shu is based on two...

...on two reading techniques,
as I've been told by a Nü shu inheritor

who initiated me into this script

as well as into...

...into the cultural
background of this phenomenon.

The first technique
consists in reading aloud

articulating each character.

The other technique
consists in chanting these characters

as a song, this is why
they're called "Nü shu songs".

What's interesting is that
each song has its own melody

and you can find it nowhere.

It was local village women

who have handed it down
until today, so they know it.

I remember that when I asked a girl

when she was about to write and sing

one of these songs...

when I asked this girl

how she could attribute each
melody to the corresponding song

clearly she was surprised at my question

because recognizing it,
came naturally to her

and it was also obvious to her
that melodies were written nowhere.

Let's watch this video.

[Reading Nü shu]

[Reading Nü shu]

Well, this is
the first technique I mentioned

that is reading each character

articulating them one by one.

An extremely interesting
and very peculiar aspect

which was pointed out by that girl

who is one of the five
or six museum custodians

and each one of them
has got her certification

as they call it.

That girl pointed out that

each woman's way
of singing depends on her generation.

The melody is the same,
words clearly are the same

but their way of singing
depends on their generation

because their past
experiences are not the same.

In order to truly understand Nü shu

you need to immerse yourself

in the time period when
women used to sing these songs

because otherwise getting their value
and their deep relevance is impossible.

However, I must say that in this village

where time really seems to stand still

immersing oneself in this
magic atmosphere is very easy.

This is the reason why

when I lived in this village

that girl gave me the chance
to listen to the same song sung

by women from different generations.

She's her mother,
who hosted us to teach us this language.

The woman in the right picture belongs to
an older generation compared to her mother.

Let's listen to this song.

[Nü shu song]

[Nü shu song]

This is the second technique,
which consists in singing.

Zhao Liming is the most
important scholar and researcher

of this phenomenon.

She's professor, or rather she was,

because now she's retired

at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

To her we owe

a great research work

that definitely allowed us

to give value to Nü shu and preserve it

and even write books

that made
this cultural phenomenon become known

even if only a little bit,
at least in China.

Moreover, to her we owe
the collection of all Nü shu songs

there are plenty of them, they
amount to about five volumes

and their translation into Chinese.

In conclusion, I want to focus

on an important aspect, I believe

about this cultural phenomenon

which that girl called to my attention

that is the fact that, as many other
Chinese cultural aspects today

currently Nü shu has two directions.

The first one consists in
being an academic matter.

When she thinks
of how Nü shu was spoken

20 years ago,

she looks back on it nostalgically

because it was a pure phenomenon

an exclusively cultural phenomenon.

On the other hand, the second
direction, the most modern one

it is influenced
by a kind of merchandising.

Because clearly...

since they're also
supported by the government itself

the aim of which is
drawing tourists to the village

by means of this phenomenon,
by means of this language

lots of village women

who know Nü shu, even superficially

they write these characters on fans

or produce artifacts which have
no cultural value, which have...

... which have no cultural value.

But tourists, who know
nothing about this phenomenon

they are attracted by them

so they buy them, but
the original value of these items

and of this language gets lost.