Tangut ideograph 17974

The dictionary link is a clue, not a fixed translation.

The Tangut–Chinese Dictionary by Li Fanwen pairs 𗥴 with the Chinese character 繒. Chinese reference works list silk cloth among 繒’s senses and also record it as a surname, romanized as Zeng; a separate English index files the Tangut entry under “surname.”

Those clues do not settle which sense applies to the Tangut sign. Treat 繒 as a dictionary gloss, not proof that 𗥴 itself means “silk” or is read like 繒 in Chinese.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It gave Tangut a state writing system and carried Buddhist texts.

The Tangut script was created under Western Xia’s first emperor about 1036 CE. It gave the state a distinct written form and supported a Tangut Buddhist canon, a collection of scriptures translated into Tangut, while distinguishing Western Xia from Song China.

Surviving writings also include Confucian classics, encyclopedias, military works, literature, and secular moral stories. A manuscript leaf from Khara-Khoto is probably from the 12th or early 13th century.

Is 𗥴 Chinese?

No. It is Tangut, a separate script influenced by Chinese writing.

Tangut characters record the Tangut language. Their visual inspiration from Chinese characters does not make them Chinese: a Chinese-looking outline does not let a reader read 𗥴 as Chinese.

After the Mongols conquered Western Xia, Tangut writing continued under Yuan and Ming rulers but had become obsolete by the end of the Ming dynasty. Scholars rediscovered the script in the late 19th century and largely deciphered it in the early 20th century.