Tangut character 187AA

It describes someone or something by itself, or the only one. In the Golden Guide, a Tangut teaching text, 𘞪 appears in a line translated as “separate, number, alone, one.” A study of Tangut dictionaries also records a Chinese-language gloss meaning “alone”; it translates the Tangut sense rather than identifying 𘞪 as a Chinese character.

Why does Tangut look Chinese?

Its designers borrowed a square visual model from Chinese writing. The Western Xia (Xixia) state created the Tangut script around 1036 to write the Tangut language and support state-building. Tangut is a separate script for another language. Manuscripts from Khara-Khoto, a medieval settlement known for Tangut texts, preserve its use.

The script served Western Xia administration and state identity, and was used for Buddhist translations, Chinese classics, military works, and literature. After the Mongol conquest, it continued in Yuan- and Ming-period materials before becoming obsolete by the end of the Ming dynasty. Tangut also followed an earlier precedent: Khitan rulers had sponsored their own script.