Translating Nüshu: Drawing Nüshu, Dancing Nüshu

Nicola Foster

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    314 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    There is evidence of women artists producing art works throughout history, but often their work was attributed to their male guardian. However, in a remote rural area of south China women developed their own script, nüshu (literally women’s writing) in which they wrote songs, ballads, laments, autobiographies, and correspondence with other women. Nüshu works were produced by women and for women and as such were left unacknowledged. This article argues that in order to acknowledge nüshu as an art practice it needs to be “translated,” referenced, and acknowledged by other artists. The paper explores the way in which two Hong Kong artists—working in drawing and dance respectively—translate, commemorate, and construct an artistic heritage and a genealogy of women artists in China through references to nüshu works.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)393-416
    Number of pages24
    JournalArt in Translation
    Volume11
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 22 Apr 2020

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Translating Nüshu: Drawing Nüshu, Dancing Nüshu'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this