Tangut Ideograph-1729D

It names a traditional grain-volume measure. Scholars reconstruct its Tangut reading as dźja̱¹ and match it to Chinese 斛. A loan contract provisionally dated 1182 records one 斛 of grain; it shows a use, not when the character was created.

Tangut writing, used for the Tangut language, was created in 1036 under Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao to produce Buddhist scriptures in Tangut and establish a distinct state identity. The Tanguts followed their neighbors, the Khitans, who had made two scripts. Tangut characters draw their forms and construction principles from Chinese writing, but Tangut is a separate script.