Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women and kept a secret by women in one very remote county in China for a thousand years. It's the only language that was invented and used by women to have been found anywhere in the world.
Interpretation
Nu shu is a unique writing system created by women in China to communicate secretly among themselves.
This quote highlights the significance of Nu shu, a writing system developed in China exclusively by women for their own use and kept secret from men for centuries. It emphasizes the creativity and resilience of women in finding ways to express themselves and communicate privately in a patriarchal society, making it a remarkable example of language and culture rooted in female experience.
In practice
In a women's history lecture, discussing the significance of Nu shu as a form of empowerment.
a laotong relationship is made by choice...when we first looked in each other's eyes in the palanquin I felt something special pass between us--like a spark to start a fire or a seed to grow rice. But a single spark is not enough to warm a room nor is a single seed enough to grow a fruitful crop. Deep love--true-heart love--must grow.
I am still learning about love. I thought I understood it--not just mother love, but the love for one's parents, for one's husband, and for one's laotong. I've experienced the other types of love--pity love, respectful love and gratitude love. But looking at our secret fan with its messages written between Snow Flower and me over many years, I see that I didn't value the most important love--deep-heart love.
When I knew I couldn't suffer another moment of pain, and tears fell on my bloody bindings, my mother spoke softly into my ear, encouraging me to go one more hour, one more day, one more week, reminding me of the rewards I would have if I carried on a little longer. In this way, she taught me how to endure — not just the physical trials of footbinding and childbearing but the more torturous pain of the heart, mind, and soul.
Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.
One summer morning at sunrise a long time ago I met a little girl with a book under her arm. I asked her why she was out so early and she answered that there were too many books and far too little time. And there she was absolutely right.
Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge.
To improve at chess you should in the first instance study the endgame.
I am a writer of books in retrospect. I talk in order to understand; I teach in order to learn.
Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.
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