Tangut script
Encyclopedia
The Tangut script was a logographic writing system, used for writing the extinct Tangut language
of the Western Xia
Dynasty. According to the latest count, 5863 Tangut characters are known, excluding variants. The Tangut characters are similar in appearance to Chinese characters, with the same type of strokes
, but the methods of forming characters in the Tangut writing system are significantly different from those of forming Chinese characters
. As in Chinese calligraphy, regular, running, cursive and seal scripts were used Tangut writing. The codification of the Tangut script in Unicode
is still in progress, but there are some Tangut fonts available, including the set provided by Mojikyo
.
According to the Songshi (宋史, English: "History of Song Dynasty
"), the script was designed by the high-ranking official Yeli Renrong
under Western Xia Emperor Li Yuanhao's supervision in 1036. The script was invented in a short period of time, and was put into use quickly. Government schools were founded to teach the script. Official documents were written in the script (with diplomatic ones written bilingually). A great number of Buddhist scriptures were translated from Tibetan and Chinese, and block printed
in the script. Although the dynasty collapsed in 1227, the script continued to be used for another few centuries. One of the last examples is a stone tower inscribed in 1502. The script was inspired by Chinese characters, being of the same design. The Tangut script is part of the Chinese family of scripts
.
Tangut characters can be divided into two classes: simple and composite. The latter are more numerous. The simple characters can be either semantic or phonetic. None of the Tangut characters are pictographic, while some of the Chinese characters were at the time of their creations; this is one of the major differences between Tangut and Chinese characters.
Most composite characters comprise two components. A few comprise three or four. A component can be a simple character, or part of a composite character. The composite characters include semantic-semantic ones and semantic-phonetic ones. A few special composite characters were made for transliterating Chinese and Sanskrit
.
There are a number of pairs of special composite characters worth noting. The members of such a pair have the same components, only the location of the components in them is different (e.g. AB vs. BA, ABC vs. ACB). The members of such a pair have very similar meanings.
Tangut language
Tangut is an ancient northeastern Tibeto-Burman language once spoken in the Western Xia Dynasty, also known as the Tangut Empire. It is classified by some linguists as one of the Qiangic languages, which also include Qiang and rGyalrong, among others...
of the Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
Dynasty. According to the latest count, 5863 Tangut characters are known, excluding variants. The Tangut characters are similar in appearance to Chinese characters, with the same type of strokes
Stroke (CJK character)
CJK strokes, also called CJK strokes or CJKV strokes are the calligraphic strokes needed to write the Chinese characters used in East Asia...
, but the methods of forming characters in the Tangut writing system are significantly different from those of forming Chinese characters
Chinese character classification
All Chinese characters are logograms, but there are several derivative types. These include a handful which derive from pictograms and a number which are ideographic in origin, but the vast majority originated as phono-semantic compounds . In older literature, Chinese characters in general may be...
. As in Chinese calligraphy, regular, running, cursive and seal scripts were used Tangut writing. The codification of the Tangut script in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
is still in progress, but there are some Tangut fonts available, including the set provided by Mojikyo
Mojikyo
is a set of computer software and fonts for enhanced logogram word-processing. , it collected 126,560/142,228 characters . Among them, 101,936/128,573 characters belong to the extended CJKV family...
.
According to the Songshi (宋史, English: "History of Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
"), the script was designed by the high-ranking official Yeli Renrong
Yeli Renrong
Yeli Renrong was a scholar close to the Tangut Emperor Li Yuanhao, who, according to the official History of Song , commanded him to design the complex Tangut script in 1036 or 1038, based on Chinese writing, for use in writing the Tangut language....
under Western Xia Emperor Li Yuanhao's supervision in 1036. The script was invented in a short period of time, and was put into use quickly. Government schools were founded to teach the script. Official documents were written in the script (with diplomatic ones written bilingually). A great number of Buddhist scriptures were translated from Tibetan and Chinese, and block printed
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
in the script. Although the dynasty collapsed in 1227, the script continued to be used for another few centuries. One of the last examples is a stone tower inscribed in 1502. The script was inspired by Chinese characters, being of the same design. The Tangut script is part of the Chinese family of scripts
Chinese family of scripts
The Chinese family of scripts are writing systems descended from the Chinese Oracle Bone Script and used for a variety of languages in East Asia...
.
Structure
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
.
External links
- Tangut script at Omniglot
- Andrew WestAndrew WestAndrew Christopher West is an English Sinologist. He initially devoted himself to studying Chinese novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties...
, Tangut coins Sample Tangut characters at Mojikyo