Tangut Ideograph 1729B

It writes a Chinese family name in Tangut script.

Several scholarly reconstructions write its Tangut reading as tshew: begin with an aspirated “ts” sound, then let the vowel move from “e” toward “u.” Scholars differ in tone notation. The Chinese character 曹 is the Chinese character for the surname Cao; Tangut uses 𗊛 to write that same name. The documented sequence 𗊛𗯒 names Cao Cao.

Western Xia rulers ordered the Tangut script in 1036 for government and state-building; it also carried Buddhist scriptures and translations of Confucian, military, and literary works, and expressed a distinct political identity. Tangut writing drew on Chinese character design and followed earlier script projects of the Khitan, another historical people of the region; those links do not make 𗊛 Chinese. The Tangut reference works Wénhǎi (“Sea of Writing”) and Tóngyīn (“Homophones”) preserve its dictionary record from the 12th century.

Why does 𗊛 look like a box?

A box usually means the font cannot draw Tangut.

A font needs Tangut coverage to render 𗊛. Without one, a device may show a box or other missing-glyph mark, even when the text still contains the right character. Font designs can also draw Tangut characters differently.

Use a Tangut input method. Rime’s Xunpin scheme offers phonetic, stroke, and Four-Corner input; a web Tangut input tool also accepts keyboard, mouse, or touch.