Western Xia
/ˈwɛstər ˈʃiːɑː/noun
A Tangut-led empire in northwestern China that existed from 1038 to 1227.
Did you know?Western Xia developed its own complex Tangut writing system, which remained undeciphered by modern scholars until the twentieth century.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wes-peros
“Evening or the western direction, from the setting of the sun”
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
夏 (*C.ʕˤraʔ)
“Xia, the traditional name of an ancient Chinese dynasty and cultural-political designation”
11th Century
Chinese
西夏 (Xī Xià)
“Western Xia; the Chinese name for the Tangut state west of the central Chinese heartland”
1038–1227
Tangut
𗼇𗟲
“The Tangut state known in Chinese as Western Xia, ruling parts of present-day Ningxia, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Qinghai”
13th Century
Mongolian and Chinese
Tangut Xia
“The conquered Western Xia realm after Mongol campaigns under Genghis Khan and Ögedei”
Modern English
English
Western Xia
“The standard English historical name for the medieval Tangut empire”
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