Nu Shu: A Dying Language Gets New Life

In today's Chinese society, where women are allowed much more freedom, they are also exposed to many more things, like the education that their ancestors didn't get. Chinese girls now learn regular Chinese and other languages and place emphasis on modern society. Often, study of the past and of a language like Nu Shu takes a back seat.

However, the Chinese government has pledged to keep the language alive. A museum will show written examples of the language, and a special protection zone will be set up to maintain the cultural history of the area.

Also, a Hunan book publisher plans to publish a dictionary covering the history of the language and the pronunciation, meaning, and written style of its characters.

And Nu Shu was the subject of a recent Canadian documentary.

The Nu Shu language, long living in the shadows of Chinese culture, is now having its day in the sun.

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