Nüshu is a syllabic script created and used exclusively by women in Jiangyong Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. The women were forbidden formal education for many centuries and developed the Nüshu script in order to communicate with one another. They embroidered the script into cloth and wrote it in books and on paper fans.
Nüshu was mainly used in the creation of San Chao Shu (三朝書) or "Third Day Missives", cloth-bound booklets created by mothers to give to their daughters upon their marriage, or by woman to give to their close female friends. The San Chao Shu contained songs written in the Nüshu script expressing hopes and sorrow, and was delivered on the third day after a woman's marriage.
The last proficient user of Nüshu, Yang Huanyi, died on 20th September 2004 at the age of 98. More details
Recently there has been a revival of interest in Nüshu and a number of women are studying it and using it again. More details
Notable featuresChéngguān Tǔhuà (城関土话), a dialect of Tǔhuà spoken in the area where Nüshu is used.
World of Nüshu, by Orie Endo
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~orie/home.htm
Some information about the Nüshu script
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/currentevents/nushu1.htm
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