Tangut character for flow

It is a Tangut character glossed as “flow.”

Scholars reconstruct its Tangut reading as ljụ¹, a notation for its historical pronunciation rather than a current spoken form. Li Fanwen’s Tangut dictionary lists it as entry 4210; the Sea of Writing, a historical Tangut dictionary arranged by sound and rhyme, also lists it. Together, these references support “flow” as a word-level gloss, not a guess from the shape.

Why was Tangut writing created?

It gave the Western Xia state a writing system for Tangut.

The Tangut, or Xixia, script was created in 1036 under Li Yuanhao, the first Western Xia emperor, as part of building a state. It served official writing and cultural learning, including a Buddhist canon in Tangut. Surviving texts also include translations from Chinese and Tibetan, Confucian classics, military treatises, encyclopedias, and literature.

A manuscript fragment from Khara-Khoto, probably from the 12th or early 13th century, shows a skilled scribe copying a bound book. The script’s start does not date every character: the earliest surviving occurrence of 𗛧 has not been securely tied to a particular manuscript.

Is 𗛧 a Chinese character?

No; it belongs to Tangut, a distinct script for another language.

Tangut designers used structural principles familiar from Chinese writing. They also followed the earlier Khitan state’s example of creating a distinct script. These are historical connections, not evidence that 𗛧 is Chinese.

During Western Xia, the script served officials, translators, religious communities, and readers of books on many subjects. After the Mongol conquest, Tangut ceased to be a language of daily use; manuscripts and dictionaries preserve its written record.