Tangut Character 171EA

It means “hair” in Tangut. Li Fanwen’s 2008 Tangut-to-Chinese dictionary lists 𗇪 as entry 1144 with the meaning “hair.”

This word belongs to the Tangut script used in Western Xia (Xixia); the Chinese text in the dictionary gives its meaning, not its pronunciation.

Is 𗇪 Chinese or Tangut?

It is Tangut, a historical language and writing system of Western Xia.

Tangut characters use square forms influenced by Chinese writing. That explains the resemblance without making 𗇪 a Chinese character.

Why was Tangut writing created?

It gave Western Xia a script for government and Buddhist texts. In 1036, its ruler Li Yuanhao ordered the script’s official creation. It supported a collection of Buddhist scriptures in Tangut and a written identity distinct from the Song dynasty, which ruled China. The neighboring Khitan people had created scripts of their own earlier.

A manuscript from Khara-khoto preserves a Tangut translation of a Chinese work and probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century. The surviving works include Buddhist scriptures, translations from Chinese and Tibetan, Confucian classics, encyclopedias, military texts and literature.

After the Mongol conquest, Tangut fell out of daily use. The surviving lexicon lists 𗇪 as the ordinary word “hair”; its setting shifted from imperial and religious books to historical study.