Shong Lue Yang and the Pahawh Hmong Script

𖬖𖬲𖬤 𖬌𖬤𖬵 𖬘𖬲𖬞 𖬔𖬟𖬰 𖬇𖬲𖬧𖬵 𖬏𖬩𖬵 𖬖𖬲𖬝𖬵 𖬄𖬲𖬟 𖬌𖬣𖬵

Revered as "Mother of Writing," Shong Lue Yang created the Pahawh Hmong script to empower his people and their language.


Shong Lue Yang and the Pahawh Hmong Script

Shong Lue Yang was an pivotal figure among the Hmong people in Vietnam and Laos, best known for creating the Pahawh Hmong script, despite being illiterate. He stood out as a multifaceted and debated figure within the Hmong communities of Vietnam and Laos during the late 1950s. Admired as a savior by some and eyed warily by others, his influence left an indelible imprint on his people, chiefly through his development of the Pahawh Hmong script.

The Pahawh Hmong

The Pahawh Hmong became more than just another writing system—it was seen by some as a gift from God. Shong Lue’s teachings also included moral and religious lessons, as well as some prophetic predictions. These ideas struck a chord with the Hmong people during the Vietnam War, a time of immense suffering and disruption for them. Scores flocked to embrace his teachings—many were drawn to his movement, inspired by his vision of unity and cultural revival.

The Tragic End

However, Shong Lue's rising influence and messianic proclamations posed a threat to both the communist regime in North Vietnam and skeptic Hmong leaders. Perceived as a potential rebel, he met his demise in 1971. The circumstances surrounding his assassination paint a grim picture of the era's confused brutality. His followers returned to find him fatally wounded. His wife, Bau Moua, fell to gunfire, their son Ba Yang wounded, and another villager killed.

A Future

Despite the tragic conclusion, Shong Lue's legacy endures. The Pahawh Hmong script experiences a resurgence in recent times, garnering official acknowledgment by the Unicode Standard and inclusion in the Noto Font Project by Google. Shong Lue Yang's narrative remains a compelling saga, shedding light on themes of cultural conservation, messianic fervor in times of turmoil, and the enduring potency of language.

Pahawh Hmong script
The Pahawh Hmong (𖬖𖬰𖬝𖬵 𖬄𖬶𖬟 𖬌𖬣𖬵) is a semi-syllabic script, created by Shong Lue Yang in 1959, to write the Hmong language.

Hmong
The Hmong are a Southeast Asian ethnic group with roots in China, known for their rich cultural traditions and historical resilience.

Khmu
The Khmu are an indigenous ethnic group of Southeast Asia, primarily residing in Laos and known for their agricultural way of life and unique language.

Unicode Standard
The Unicode Standard is a universal character encoding system that allows computers to represent and process text in most writing systems of the world.

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I began this study (Shong Lue Yang and the Pahawh Writing System) out of curiosity, and I end it with admiration. I want my fellow Westerners to appreciate what this mountain villager did, what a remarkable human being he was. And as a friend of Hmong people, I want all of them to be proud of Shong Lue Yang and his writ­ing system, regardless of how they choose to write their language. I believe the creation of the Pahawh Hmong was a major intellectual feat, in some ways unparalleled in the world. I would like all Hmong people to know that it was achieved by a Hmong.

William A. Smalley, in Mother of Writing: The Origin and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script

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The invention of the Hmong script by the "Mother of Writing" is one of the most extrodiary thing. I've really only know of one other example in history where someone from an oral culture, created a writing system for his language and for his people.

The only other example I know of somebody from an oral culture who create a writing system was Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee writing system (syllabary) in the United States (1821). He was so different from the rest of the Cherokee that when he created this writing system, he was put on trial for witchcraft because by and large, writing was seen as a form of witchcraft.

Tim Brookes, founder of Endangered Alphabets, in SBS Australia, Hmong

Listen to the full SBS podcast episode with Tim Brookes
Learn more about Sequoyah and the Cherokee syllabary

Additional reading:

Mother of Writing: The Origin and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script
William A. Smalley, Chia Koua Vang, and Gnia Yee Yang

Life of Shong Lue Yang
Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota

Shong Lue Yang
Wikipedia



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