What if there was a way for women to communicate with each other secretly? For women to freely express their innermost sorrows and desires without the understanding of men? Such a language exists – and has existed for thousands of years – in Jiangyong County of Hunan, China.

Violet Du Feng and Zhao Qing’s “Hidden Letters” follows two millennial women, Hu Xin and Wu Simu, who are protecting the centuries-old language system of Nüshu (女書), which translates to “women’s script.” Nüshu is a syllabic script derived from Chinese characters invented and passed down generationally by peasant women who were denied education, had their feet bound, and were imprisoned by oppressive marriages.