{"id":26545,"date":"2023-03-27T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T08:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=26545"},"modified":"2023-10-01T09:01:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T16:01:51","slug":"how-do-modern-women-in-china-keep-the-secret-nushu-language-tradition-alive","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/how-do-modern-women-in-china-keep-the-secret-nushu-language-tradition-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Telling the Story of Keeping the Secret N\u00fcshu Language Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Besides a well, one does not thirst. Besides a sister, one does not despair.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 N\u00fcshu poem<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Inspired by a bestselling book that featured N\u00fcshu, filmmaker <\/span>Violet Du Feng<\/b> was surprised at how little she and most Chinese people knew about the secret written language that goes back centuries in China. The Shanghai native and New York resident Feng became obsessed with N\u00fcshu as she began seeing ways its ancient story connected to modern women in China struggling in a patriarchal society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Hidden Letters<\/i><\/a><\/strong> examines the only script designed and used exclusively by women that shows how friction has developed in China over the commercialization and control of N\u00fcshu. But ultimately Feng’s documentary\u2014which she co-directed with Qing Zhao\u2014is the story of the bonds of sisterhood. To that end, <\/span>Hidden Letters<\/span><\/i> spans past and present, as two young women try to continue the tradition while fiercely protecting it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is N\u00fcshu?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Violet Du Feng: <\/b>For centuries leading up to the Communist Revolution in 1949, Chinese women following the \u201cThree Obediences<\/span>\u201d\u2014to obey fathers in childhood, husbands in marriage, and sons in widowhood\u2014succumbed to the oppression of patriarchy. Foot binding was prevalent, women were often relegated to private domestic settings, away from the public gaze, and unmarried girls spent most of their time doing needlework with peers in the upstairs chamber of a house.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet persistent struggle led to eventual resistance, and when the written language of N\u00fcshu emerged in Jiangyong, a remote village in Central China, one of the most extraordinary and pioneering forms of feminist protest was born.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Filmmaker

Filmmaker Violet Du Feng<\/p><\/div>\n

N\u00fcshu was created by and for women to commune in privacy. As a secret text, N\u00fcshu was written in calligraphy as poems or songs on paper-folded fans and handkerchiefs. These hidden letters were passed down from generation to generation as a way for women to share their stories, express hope and solidarity, and affirm their dignity in the face of daily struggles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a world where there was almost no female literature, most women [in China] had their own written biographical ballads.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did <\/b>you<\/i><\/b>\u00a0 learn about N\u00fcshu?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Violet: <\/b>In 2005 I read about Lisa See\u2019s critically acclaimed <\/span>New York Times <\/span><\/i>bestselling novel <\/span>Snow Flower and the Secret Fan<\/span><\/i>. The book, based on a female friendship forged through N\u00fcshu, has sold 1.5 million copies and was later made into a movie directed by Wayne Wang. I was so amazed about the existence of N\u00fcshu, which most Chinese, including me, knew nothing about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Working in film for so many years, I\u2019ve always wanted to tell stories that are different and bring a fresh voice about China, different from the mainstream media. I was very much feeling drawn to doing something about a women\u2019s issue that hasn\u2019t really been talked about. Two producers, <\/span>Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas<\/b> and <\/span>Jean Tsien<\/b>, approached me to do a film about N\u00fcshu. I knew I wanted to tell a contemporary story, to connect N\u00fcshu with the state of women\u2019s rights in today\u2019s China.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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“We don\u2019t feel there\u2019s a way to talk about women\u2019s issues in China.”<\/pullquote><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How does this project resonate with your own feelings as a woman and a filmmaker?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Violet: <\/b>I grew up in China when the state provided free daycare but I was raised mostly by my dad and I never thought I could dream any less than a boy, just because I\u2019m a girl. My dad always gave me that kind of hope, and my mom was the first-generation medical staff in our family and took great pride in her career.<\/span><\/p>\n

I moved back to China in 2010, where I was producing films for emerging first-time female filmmakers from China. So I was more in the Chinese industry, where I understood how patriarchal it was, and that was also when I got married and\u2026 became a mom that I suddenly felt society\u2019s expectations on me were to be a good wife and mom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot has to do with the way our society has become capitalistic with the vastly expanding gender wage gap. I felt stifled, and all my girlfriends felt the same. We don\u2019t feel there\u2019s a way to talk about women\u2019s issues in China.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n