Tangut script
| Tangut script 𗼇𘝞 | |
|---|---|
The Art of War written in Tangut | |
| Script type | Logographic
|
| Creator | Yeli Renrong |
Period | 1036–1502 |
| Direction | Vertical right-to-left (Modern academia: left-to-right) |
| Languages | Tangut language |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Tang (520), Tangut |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Tangut |
| |
| Chinese | 西夏文 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | Western Xia script | ||||||
| |||||||
The Tangut script is a logographic writing system, formerly used for writing the extinct Tangut language of the Tanguts. It was widely used during the Tangut-founded Western Xia dynasty, and fell into obscurity after its extinction. According to a 2004 count, 5,863 Tangut characters are known, excluding variants. The Tangut characters are similar in appearance to Chinese characters, with the same type of strokes, but the methods of forming characters in the Tangut writing system are significantly different from those of forming Chinese characters. As with Chinese, regular, running, cursive and seal scripts were used in Tangut writing.