Tangut
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The Tangut, also known as the Western Xia were a Qiangic-Tibetan people who moved to the highlands of western Sichuan sometime before the 10th century AD. They spoke the Tangut language, a now-extinct Qiangic language (Tibeto-Burman).
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History
A nomadic tribe, the Tangut moved from place to place and eventually settled in West Sichuan. From the moment they entered this region they have undergone a process of sinicization, a term meaning the adoption of Chinese cultural characteristics. Eventually the Tangut state was founded in the year 982 by Li Deming (李德明). Known in the Chinese language as "Xi-Xia" (西夏), the Tangut people called their state "phiow¹-bjij²-lhjij-lhjij²", which translates to "The Great State of White and Lofty."
Since the Tangut's founding father, Li Deming, was not a very conservative ruler, the Tangut people began to absorb more and more of the Chinese culture that surrounded them, and soon the unique traditions and characteristics of the Tangut people began to fade.
Li Deming's more conservative son, Li Yuanhao, (李元昊) sought to restore and strengthen the Tangut people's identity by ordering the creation of an official Tangut script and by instituting laws that reinforced traditional cultural customs. One of the laws he mandated called for citizens to wear traditional ethnic apparel, and another required wearing hair short or shaving the head, as opposed to the Chinese custom at the time of wearing hair long and knotted. Rejecting the common Chinese name of "Li," he adopted a Tangut name and renamed the capital city "Xingqing" (興慶).
In 1038, Li YuanHao claimed the title Emperor of the Tangut state, which continued to exist until it was destroyed by Genghis Khan in the year 1227.
The ancient Tangut capital was eventually rediscovered by Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov in 1907.
Script
The Tangut script, introduced in 1036, was a siniform based loosely on the Chinese method of writing. The script is presumed to have been designed by "The Teacher, Iri" under the supervision of the Emperor of the Tangut state, Li Yuan Hao. It consisted of approximately 6600 logographic characters built from radicals, in much the same way as they are in the Chinese script. Occasionally, for religious documents, the Tangut language was written in Tibetan script. The biggets collections of Tangut documents are now kept in St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academmy of Sciences. The collections amounts to about 10 thousand volumes, of mostly Buddhist texts, law codes and legal documents dating from mid. 11th up to early 13th centuries. Among the the Buddhist texts a number of unique compilations, not known neither in Chinese nor in Tibetan versions were recently discovered. Other major Tangut collections, though much smaller in size belong to the British Museum, National Library in Beijing, Library of Beijing University and other libraries The research of Tangut script began as early as early 20th century when M. Maurisse first aquired a copy of Tangut "Lotus sutra", which was partially researched by some unknown Chinese scholar. After the discovery of Khara-Khoto library by P. K. Kozlov the script was identified as the one belonging to the Tangut state of Xixia, and actual research had began. Such scholars as A. I. Ivanov, Ishihama Juntaro, B. Laufer, Luo Fuchang, Luo Fucheng, Wang Jingru contributed into the research of the Tangut language. The task of reconstruction of the Tangut language became much easier when a number of Tangut-Chinese and Tangut-Tibetan dictionries and phonetic tables and parallel texts had been discovered. The biggest achievement in the field belongs to N. A. Nevskij, who managed to reconstruct Tangut grammar and provide the first Tangut-Chinese-English dictionary, which together with the collection of his papers was published posthumously in 1960 under the title "Tangut Philology" (Moscow: 1960). Later, substantial contribution to the research of Tangut language was done by Nishida Tatsuo, K.B. Kepping, Gong Huangcheng, M.V. Sofronov, Li Fanwen. As of now, there are three TAngut dictionaries available: one original one composed by N.A. Nevskij, the one composed by Li Fanwen and E.I. Kychanov. Apparently, the disctionary by N.A. Nevskij still remains the most valuable one. As of now, there is growing a school of Tangut studies in China (main scholars: Shi Jinbo, Li Fanwen, Nie Hongyin, Bai Bin, Chen Binying). In other countries Tangut studies are less popular: the leading Russian schoalr in the field E. I. Kychanov has but one student (K. J. Solonin), Nishida Tatsuo and Arakawa Shintaro in Japan, Ruth Dunnell in the USA.
Religion
The main religion of the Tangut state was Buddhism, which played a very important role in Tangut society. It is believed that Tangut emperors were viewed as partially spiritual beings. This is reflected by the fact that some sources indicate emperors were referred to as bodhisattvas, which are deities or beings who have attained enlightenment worthy of passage to nirvana but who remain on earth to help mankind. The entire Buddhist canon was translated into the Tangut language over a span of 50 years—a remarkable feat, compared to the time it took the Chinese to accomplish the same task. The Buddhism in Xixia is generally believed to be an amalgamation of Tibetan and Chinese traditions, among which Huayan Chan (tradition of Guifeng Zongmi, 780-841)was the most influential. The degree of Tibetan impact on the formation of Tangut Buddhism still remains unexplored, especially in the light of new discoveries showing that Tangut Buddhism owed more to the local culture in Northern China than to pure Tibetan or Chinese influences. One of the more definite sources of Tangut Buddhism was Wutaishan, where both Huayan and Esoteric Buddhism fluorished since the late Tang period up to the time of Mongol invasion.
Some conflicting sources claim the Tangut religion is rooted in Confucianism.
The Tangut state enforced strict laws pertaining to the teaching of religious beliefs and rigorously screened potential teachers. Before he was allowed to teach, a newcomer entering the state from Tibet or India first had to seek the approval of local authorities. Doctrines taught and methods used were carefully supervised to ensure there was no possibility that the Tangut people might misunderstand the teachings. Anyone found to be a fortune-teller or charlatan faced immediate persecution. Deeming it contrary to Buddhist ethical beliefs, the Tangut state strictly forbade religious teachers from accepting compensation or reward for their teaching services.
Although the state did not support an official school of Buddhism, it did protect all religious sites and objects within the country's boundaries.
As in China, becoming a monk required government approval, and anyone found to have taken the vows of a monk without such government oversight faced severe punishment.
Remarkable for the time, women played a role in Tangut religious practices by serving as Buddhist nuns, a position that could only be held by a woman who had been widowed or who was an unmarried virgin.