Tangut Character 17FBB

The intended dictionary entry is 𗾹; 𗾻 is its mistaken form.

Unicode Technical Note No. 42 (2019) calls 𗾻 an erroneous form of 𗾹, found in three editions of Li Fanwen’s Tangut–Chinese dictionary. It traces the error probably to a printed glyph in the B2 edition of Homophones, a Tangut rhyme dictionary: the three horizontal strokes of component 98, 𘠁, barely crossed its vertical stroke. The dictionary glosses for 𗾹 include shame or disgrace, and focused or devoted attention to a person, occasion, or purpose.

Why was Tangut writing created?

It served Western Xia state-building, Buddhist texts, and cultural identity.

Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao ordered the Tangut script in 1036. It supported state-building, a Tangut edition of the Buddhist canon (the collection of Buddhist sacred texts), and a distinct identity from Song China. Tangut writing took visual and structural inspiration from Chinese characters but did not descend from them. The Tangut rulers also followed neighboring Khitan peoples, who had created their own scripts a century earlier. Later Tangut texts include Buddhist scriptures, translations of Chinese works, some translations from Tibetan, and works first written in Tangut.

When should I use 𗾻?

Preserve it when a source or record actually contains it.

For the established dictionary entry, use 𗾹. These are separate code points. A font affects their appearance, not the code point in the text, so a plausible Tangut glyph on screen cannot verify which form was selected.