Yi Syllable Cax

ꊷ represents one syllable in standard Liangshan Yi writing. In the Latin spelling cax, final x marks the secondary-high tone, a pitch pattern; it is not an extra consonant. The surrounding Yi text supplies the word-level meaning.

The Yi script developed through local writing traditions. A Nuosu tradition credits Aki with creating it during the Tang dynasty; proposed stone, bronze, pottery, and bone inscriptions from the Western Han period may preserve early Yi writing. An inscription on a bronze bell dated 1485 is among the earliest securely dated examples; paper and sheepskin manuscripts date to around 1500. These dates trace the script tradition, not this exact standardized form.

Before standardization, village priestly traditions used Yi writing for religious, magical, medical, and genealogical texts; local forms varied, making manuscripts hard to exchange. The Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy. It regularized a syllabary—a system using one sign per syllable—for one dialect. It grew from local Classical Yi writing, whose older forms are sometimes called Cuan or Wei; it did not replace every Yi tradition or turn Chinese characters into Yi signs.

How do you type ꊷ?

Use a Yi input method and choose the syllable.

On Windows, add Yi input, enter the syllable’s Latin sound spelling, then select the intended character from the candidates. The spelling is an input cue; a usual keyboard may not have a dedicated key for it.

Why does ꊷ look different in another font?

The character stays the same; its outline can change.

Two fonts can draw different outlines for the same encoded character. If it appears as an empty square or replacement mark, the active font or its backup may lack a Yi glyph; try a font with Yi coverage. Standardized Yi text runs left to right, and its characters do not join.