‘A sanctuary for us’: China’s Gen Z women embrace centuries-old script

‘A sanctuary for us’: China’s Gen Z women embrace centuries-old script

By Isabel Kua with Emily Wang in Shanghai At a studio in central China’s Hunan province, a teacher grips an ink brush, gently writing characters of a secret script created by women centuries ago and now being embraced by a new generation. Nushu inheritor and teacher He Yuejuan (right) shows a Nushu calligraphy work at her workshop at Goulan Yao Village in Jiangyong county, southern China’s Hunan province, on July 21, 2025. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP. N…