Tangut Ideograph 1871D

A Tangut dictionary glosses it as “to measure.” Unicode maps the glyph to dictionary index H5682, whose matching entry supplies that English gloss. It is a translated Tangut word, not a Mandarin pronunciation or meaning.

Where did Tangut writing come from?

Tangut writing was made for the Western Xia state. It was promulgated in 1036 for administration, including correspondence in the local language and official records. It also served Buddhist translation and printing, so its historical record spans government, religion, and literature.

The script uses square forms built from components, following the visual model of Chinese regular writing; its characters are not Chinese copies. A connection to neighboring Khitan writing has been proposed because some construction habits are shared, but direct ancestry is unsettled. After Western Xia fell in 1227, Tangut writing continued for centuries.

Why does 𘜝 appear as a box?

Your font needs Tangut coverage. Unicode assigns the text a code point, but fonts supply the drawn shape. Without a Tangut font, a browser or app may show an empty square or replacement mark; that display problem does not change the character.