Nanshu and Nushu – Man’s Language and Mother’s Tongue
China’s mother tongue is dying.
* Generations of women passed down a unique form of writing that was kept away from men. Now a 95-year-old may be the last alive who grew up using nushu.
Picture from here.
“When I learned nushu, it was to meet with friends and sisters to exchange our thoughts and letters. We wrote what was in our hearts, our feelings,” Yang said. “But now,” she added with a sigh, “there’s no use learning it anymore.”
Nushu on the left
Chasing Nushu resulted in woven cloth.
Nushu did not produce its Tale of Genji (first great novel written by Lady Murasaki) and Nushu sounds like Nasu which means eggplant in Japanese.
The world of Nushu.
This is China’s new power language – Yuan shu
Y U A N
digital image July 22, 2005
The honorary China man from Australia
Chris Doyle said this of Wong Kar Wai from the Observer.
“2046 was a kind of sequel to In the Mood for Love, and, he says: ‘I feel that 2046 is unnecessary, in retrospect. I think probably Wong Kar-Wai realised that somewhere, and that’s why it took so long. You do realise that you have basically said what you needed to say, so why say more? I feel that way. I think you have to move on.’
Chris is the most honest drunken cinematographer.
This is an example of Nansu (man’s language in Chinese), old friends showing comradrie and affection – or do you think they are having a serious rift?
Eat only Big Mac and Kentucky Fried Chickens in China if you want to be safe, a warning from Peking Duck, from here.