Tangut character 𗞾

A historical Tangut dictionary gives it the gloss “be destroyed.”

Li Fanwen’s Tangut dictionary indexes 𗞾 as entry 4265. A second index places it at entry #933 on folio 71 of Gerard Clauson’s Skeleton Tangut, a reference work on Tangut characters. The Unicode label identifies the glyph but does not translate it.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It supported Western Xia government, translation, and cultural identity.

In 1036, Li Yuanhao ordered scholars including Yeli Renrong to create a script for Western Xia, the Tangut state. It was used in government and for translations from Chinese and Tibetan, especially Buddhist works, as well as secular texts.

Tangut rulers also followed the Khitan example of creating a state script. Chinese characters influenced Tangut’s visual and structural design, but Tangut was a separate writing system. An undated manuscript from Khara-khoto is thought to date to the 12th or early 13th century; that dates the manuscript, not the first appearance of 𗞾.

How should I use 𗞾 today?

Use it as a historical reference and add a gloss when meaning matters.

If readers need the historical meaning, write the gloss in words beside the glyph.

Sent alone to someone who does not read Tangut, it cannot reliably communicate the dictionary gloss. In a modern message, it signals interest in Tangut or Western Xia writing rather than serving as a familiar reaction.