Tangut Unicode Block

The Tangut Unicode block is a range of characters that represents the script used by the Tangut people, an ancient ethnic group who established the Western Xia dynasty in China during the 11th to 13th centuries. The Tangut script is ideographic, similar in function to Chinese characters, and was used to write the Tangut language—a Tibeto-Burman language unique to this now-extinct ethnic group. The block encompasses characters that primarily serve to encode the extensive literature and historical documents of the Western Xia period, providing crucial resources for historians and linguists interested in this enigmatic civilization. With its inclusion in Unicode, the Tangut block facilitates the digital preservation and scholarly analysis of surviving writings.

Spanning from U+17000 to U+187FF, the Tangut Unicode block contains over 6,000 individual characters. Each character has intricate strokes and structures, showcasing the complexity and distinctiveness of the script. This inclusion in Unicode not only aids in the academic study by providing standardized encoding but also ensures that this fragment of human legacy remains accessible as digital texts proliferate. The character representation supports research and revival efforts, offering a means for broader appreciation and understanding of the cultural heritage of the Tangut people, while also contributing to advancements in the digital humanities and computational linguistics fields.

View a range of fonts that support the Tangut block.

Below you will find all the characters that are in the Tangut unicode block. Currently there are 6144 characters in this block.