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Tangut Script Writing System

Type Object Region Northwestern China Time 1038–1227

Tangut script was a square-character system created by the Tangut people after founding Western Xia, blending Chinese strokes and ideographic structu…

Timeline

  1. 1038–1044Xingqing Prefecture · Northwestern ChinaAfter Li Yuanhao declared himself emperor, he ordered Yeli Renrong and others to create the Tangut script, promulgating it nationwide alongside Chinese and Tibetan as the Western Xia state writing system.
  2. c. 1080–1150Hexi Corridor and Western Xia territory · Hexi CorridorTangut script was widely used for Buddhist scripture translation, official seals, inscriptions, and documents; texts unearthed at places like Khara-Khoto show its increasing standardization.
  3. 1201–1210Western Xia capital Xingqing Prefecture · Northwestern ChinaIn the reigns of the last emperors Qianyou and Shenzong, Tangut script remained the dynasty's official writing, used for edicts and diplomatic documents alongside dealings with Song, Jin, and the Mongols.
  4. 1227Former Western Xia territory · Northwestern ChinaAfter the Mongols conquered Western Xia, Tangut script lost state support, gradually fading from everyday writing and surviving only in excavated texts and later epigraphic scholarship.

Sources