(file photo)

Central China's Hunan Province has published a calligraphy textbook of Nvshu, a written language developed for and by women in Hunan during ancient times.

A local art association spent three years compiling the calligraphy textbook which contains the basic knowledge, calligraphy characters, writing styles and methods, as well as traditional songs of Nvshu.

Nvshu was usually written on paper or stitched on cloth, and the characters were supposed to make people relate the words to women's postures.

Women used Nvshu to communicate with each other, record their daily life, and write songs. The female script was popular in Hunan's Jiangyong County.

"The calligraphy textbook aims to cultivate Nvshu writers to better preserve and inherit the cultural heritage, as well as to develop the Nvshu cultural tourism industry," said Ouyang Hongyan, one of the textbook authors.

Since the 1980s, China has established more than 10 research institutions in protection of the ancient language.