A LANGUAGE BY WOMEN, FOR WOMEN

In China, in tha past, only men learned to read and write Chinese. Beacause of that, scholars are not sure how, or exactly when, women of a fertile valley in the southwestern corner of Hunan province developed their own way to communicate.

So, a new language called Nushu was born. It was a delicate, graceful script passed from grandmother to granddaughter, from aunt to niece, from girlfriend to girlfriend - and they never shared it with the men and boys. Chinese scholars believe it is the only one of its kind.

(adapted from Edward Cody, Washington Post Foreign Service, February 24, 2004)