Ep. 154 | The Secret Nüshu Script

In this shorter than usual episode, Laszlo introduces a little piece of culture taken from the southern portion of Hunan Province. Generations of illiterate women from a single county on the Hunan-Guangxi border, denied education, created their own writing script.

Men never learned it and so it was used by these women to communicate with each other and to record their secret thoughts and inspirations. Almost lost to posterity, Nüshu has made somewhat of a revival and today others are learning it and keeping it alive.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Chengguan Tuhua城关土话The dialect in and around Shangjiangxu Town
CunVillage
Guangxi广西Province in China
Guangxu Emperor光绪帝Qing Emperor during the painful last years of the dynasty
Guilin桂林City in Guangxi
Hunan湖南Province in China
Jiangyong County江永县Where much of this episode takes place
Jiangyong Xian江永县Jiangyong County
Jiebai Zimei结拜姊妹Sworn Sisters
Laotong老同“Old Same” A very close relationship arranged between two girls that lasted a lifetime
Nüshu女书The secret women's script
Nüshu wenhua女书文化Nüshu Culture
Putonghua普通话Mandarin (language)
Puyi溥仪The Last Emperor
Sanzhao三朝A custom followed on the third day after marriage or after birth
Sanzhaoshu三朝书The Third Day Book
Shang Dynasty商朝The Shang Dynasty
Shangjiangxu Town上江圩镇Ground Zero for Nüshu culture, located in Jiangyong County
Shen Nong神农You all remember him from the Tea Series, right?
Xianfeng Emperor咸丰帝Qing Emperor during the painful last years of the dynasty
Xiangnan Tuhua湘南土话The local dialect of southern Hunan
Yang Huanyi阳焕宜The last person who actually lived the Nüshu Culture
Yang Yueqing杨月清Canadian Film maker
Yao People瑶族The Yao minority people, also called the Dao in Vietnam
Zhou Shuoyi周硕沂Researcher who did much to revive Nüshu Culture

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Ep. 155 | Joseph Needham (Part 1)

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Ep. 153 | The History of Opium in China