Tangut character 𗽱

It is cataloged with the Tangut gloss “bee.”

The English index to Li Fanwen’s Tangut dictionary links entry 2462 with “bee,” and Unicode proposal material maps this glyph to that entry. A Tangut variant table lists the same glyph under a different dictionary number, 3390, so “bee” is a recorded catalog gloss, not a certain standalone translation.

To translate it in an old text, use the neighboring Tangut characters and the work’s context; one glyph alone may not settle its word-level meaning.

Why was Tangut writing created?

It gave Western Xia a state writing system.

Western Xia developed Tangut writing for its government and cultural life; official state use is conventionally dated to 1036. Schools taught the script, officials used it, and diplomatic documents could be bilingual. Its Chinese-inspired appearance does not make it readable as Chinese.

Tangut writing also supported Buddhist translation and printing. Texts translated works from Chinese and Tibetan; a datable Tibetan Buddhist translation appeared in 1094. Printed dhāraṇī—Buddhist protective formulas—linked the script with prayers for protection, long life and good fortune, and rites against disasters.

How is Tangut connected to Chinese writing?

Tangut was modeled partly on Chinese writing, but it is a separate script.

Some visual patterns and character-building methods overlap, but Tangut was written for a different language. Knowing Chinese does not let you read Tangut.

Western Xia fell in 1227, but Tangut writing continued for centuries in religious and local settings. The latest known example is a pair of Buddhist dhāraṇī pillars dated 1502. Researchers recovered readings using bilingual materials and specialist dictionaries. As of 2026, digital Tangut is chiefly encountered in dictionaries, text collections, fonts and scholarly work.