Phags-pa letter E

It writes the Phags-pa E vowel as an independent letter.

It is one of the script’s basic vowel letters. Its exact sound depends on the language being written: Chinese uses E and EE for different vowel qualities, while Mongolian distributes them across word positions.

Why did Kublai Khan commission Phags-pa?

To give the Mongol empire one script for many languages.

The Tibetan lama known as the Phags-pa Lama devised it at Kublai Khan’s request. The commission began in 1260; an imperial edict promulgated the new Mongolian script in 1269.

It aimed to replace the Uyghur-derived script used for Mongolian and to record the empire’s many languages. Phags-pa appeared on edicts, official passes, coins, banknotes, seals, books, and inscriptions, but did not displace older Mongolian writing. After the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty in China fell in 1368, Phags-pa stopped being used for Chinese and Mongolian, though limited seal use continued in Tibet. By the late sixteenth century, a Tibetan-style form called hor-yig, meaning Mongolian writing in Tibetan, had developed for decorative seals, book covers, buildings, and calligraphy.

What did Phags-pa take from Tibetan, and what about Hangul?

Its letterforms draw on Tibetan; the Hangul link is debated.

Phags-pa is based on Tibetan writing, but its vowels are independent letters rather than marks attached to consonants. Its columns run from top to bottom and advance from left to right, following Mongolian writing practice; letters connect along a vertical stem.

Some scholars propose that Phags-pa influenced parts of the Korean alphabet, Hangul. The extent of that influence remains disputed.