An (In)Visible Letter

Abstract

This article takes the form of a letter, a genre prevalent among many women across cultures, and manifestly among some women in the Nüshu region. Exclusively used by women in Shangjiangxu Township, Jiangyong County, Hunan Province, China, Nüshu, women's script, is believed to have been created by women. Through generations of practice of this matriarchal script in writing letters, wedding missives, biographies and autobiographies, some women had defined positive terms for themselves in the contexts in which they lived. Addressing an elderly woman, now deceased, whom I visited three times over a span of five years, the writing covers accounts of the women's practice, interwoven with cultural discourse, mainly women's art and literary practices, and philosophy from the West. Whilst bringing forward a forgotten culture and seeking the possibility of articulating one's desires, the writing opens up a dialogue connecting women in the practice of chanting, writing and drawing, across cultures, space and time.