Tangut character 17A0A

It is a Tangut character for the gallbladder.

A Tangut dictionary gives it the Chinese gloss 膽, “gallbladder.” In Chinese, 膽 can also mean “courage”; that second Chinese sense does not establish another meaning for this Tangut character.

Why was Tangut script created?

The Western Xia created it for administration and translation.

The Western Xia, also called Xixia, introduced Tangut writing in 1036 under its ruler Li Yuanhao. An early surviving Tangut edition of the Buddhist scripture called the Lotus Sutra dates to the 11th century, showing the script in use soon after its creation. These dates describe the script’s history, not a confirmed first appearance of 𗨊.

Tangut was used for Buddhist texts, legal documents, and translations from Chinese and Tibetan. After the Western Xia fell, Tangut writing continued in Buddhist communities under the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Buddhist memorial pillars dated 1502 are among the latest known Tangut monuments. Tangut writing drew visual influence from Chinese writing and developed alongside Khitan scripts; these remain distinct writing systems.