Tangut Ideograph 17CA6

In Tangut, 𗲦 names a mortar, the bowl used with a pestle. A dictionary glosses it as the vessel where a hand-held tool crushes grain, herbs, or other ingredients.

How did Tangut writing begin?

It began as state writing in Western Xia around 1036. Western Xia was a Tangut-ruled state in what is now northwestern China, and Tangut was its language. Its government used the script for correspondence and official business; it was later used for Buddhist translations. A state-backed script also asserted Tangut identity alongside Chinese literary culture.

A Khara-Khoto Tangut manuscript probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century. Tangut writing continued under the Yuan and Ming dynasties before eventually falling out of use.

What is 𗲦 made of?

Its structure is indexed with the Tangut component 𘢸. A component is a recurring written part scholars use to describe or index Tangut characters; this link describes structure, not the word “mortar.”

The Tangut component 𘢸 is also recorded for 𗲥 and 𗲧, separate ideographs rather than spellings of 𗲦. The Tangut and Khitan scripts are linked by state history: Tangut rulers followed an earlier Khitan precedent of sponsoring a native script. Tangut also borrowed some construction principles used in Chinese writing, but remained a distinct script.