Trailblazer Award Winner: Cindy Zheng

Nüshu 女书

Nüshu 女书 reimagines an endangered script created and used exclusively by women in Hunan, China, and passed quietly between generations for centuries. The campaign is created primarily for younger members of the Chinese diaspora. It also reaches a broader audience interested in cultural preservation and endangered languages. It aims to raise awareness, celebrate the script's visual beauty and advocate for its preservation as a living tradition. A tête-bêche book lets history and contemporary relevance speak directly to each other. An illustration series uses the willow leaf as a central motif to echo the script's soft, flowing forms. Posters and postcards carry this visual language into shareable formats, positioning Nüshu not as something to mourn but as something worth knowing, sharing and continuing.