Omitting repeated text with I remember when I was studying in China a teacher of mine said you could omit a word under the same word using the character/symbol . Coincidentally I bumped into it yesterday and remembered that. But I'm not sure if this is correct and if it's really this character. For example:


  中国 很 大。
   ....  很 漂亮。  (omitting 中国)
   ....  在 亚洲。  (omitting 中国)


Questions:
1 - Does  really have this function?
2 - Does  have a name?

Thanks
1) yes, it represent what is from the above!
But in formal writing, Like journals or school articles or official documents from the lawyers. we are not allow this kind of writing. But in private conversations, email or when professor write on the black board. People understand that this is used to denote the words in the sentence above it.
2) no