Tangut character 𗏊

Its Tangut dictionary entry is listed under “belly.”

In Unicode 17.0.0, the name “TANGUT IDEOGRAPH-173CA” is algorithmically formed from the script and code point; it is not a translation. Unicode’s source mapping points to entry 2081 in Li Fanwen’s 2008 Tangut-Chinese Dictionary; an English index lists that entry under “belly.” The surrounding Tangut sentence gives the context for its exact use.

Unicode also indexes 𗏊 under 𘡃, a recurring Tangut structural piece used to describe and look up characters. This links the written forms; the component alone is not a translation.

Why does 𗏊 show as a square?

The active font may lack Tangut coverage.

Unicode preserves the character; fonts draw its shape. Without a font that supports Tangut, the display falls back to a box or another missing-glyph mark. A Tangut-capable font can render it.

What did Tangut writing carry?

Government records, private writing, and Buddhist texts.

Created around 1036, the Tangut (Xixia) script served the Western Xia government, supported Buddhist translation and printing, and set the kingdom’s writing apart from Song China’s. The Tanguts also followed the example of their neighboring Khitan people, who had a state script of their own.

Surviving texts include official, private, and religious writing, including translations of Chinese works. A Khara-Khoto manuscript probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century; Tangut woodblock books were printed by the mid-12th century. The script continued under the Yuan and Ming dynasties and was obsolete by the end of the Ming dynasty. That setting helps interpret it, but the surrounding Tangut passage is still needed to read the character precisely.