Tangut character

It is a Tangut character; its inventory label is not a translation.

Tangut lexicographic data reconstructs its sound as *kjɨ̱r². This scholarly notation proposes a pronunciation, not an English gloss; the surrounding Tangut word or sentence gives its meaning in context.

The Xixia, or Tangut, script was created around 1036 for Western Xia, a state in northwestern China. It drew visual inspiration from Chinese writing, while Khitan scripts provided a regional precedent for a distinct state script.

Why did Western Xia use Tangut?

It let the state write its language in official and religious life.

The court promoted Tangut writing for official, private, and religious purposes, including Buddhist scriptures and translations of Chinese works. The script let Western Xia write its own language while participating in Chinese literary culture.

After Western Xia fell, Tangut texts continued into the Yuan and Ming dynasties in China. The script had fallen out of use by the end of the Ming dynasty.