A brown-glazed flask with a carved floral design, a commom Western Xia porcelain vessel with distinctive ethnic features Photo: Ren Guanhong/CSST

The Western Xia Dynasty (1038–1227) was established by the Tangut people [an ethnic group which historically prospered in northwest China between the 11th and 13th centuries].

Occupying the area along the trade route between Central Asia and Europe, the Tangut were content as a tributary to the Song Dynasty until 1038, when a new leader, Li Yuanhao, declared himself emperor of the Great Xia and established his capital at present-day Yinchuan, Ningxia. The Great Xia was generally known as Western Xia to distinguish it from the ancient Chinese state of Xia. The Western Xia soon embarked on military campaigns against the Song, but was eventually conquered in 1227 by the Mongol troops of Genghis Khan.

The Western Xia adopted a new writing system for their people, resembling Chinese characters in its strokes. The Western Xia people were ardent devotees of Buddhism. Early in the kingdom’s history, Chinese Buddhism was the most widespread form of Buddhism practiced. However, around the mid-12th century Tibetan Buddhism gained prominence as rulers invited Tibetan monks to hold the distinctive office of state preceptor. Since the local printing industry was relatively developed, books (most of which were Buddhist scriptures) were printed in both Western Xia and Han scripts in order to absorb the Han culture while maintaining their own. These texts printed during this period remain key resources for studying the now-extinct Western Xia script.

The discovery of the ruins of Khara-Khoto has had a profound impact on the study of Western Xia civilization. The Russian traveler Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov visited Khara-Khoto twice, each time uncovering significant cultural artifacts. In his first expedition, Kozlov filled ten cases—each weighing approximately 16.38 kilograms—with cultural relics unearthed from the ruins of Khara-Khoto, which he then sent to Russia. The cultural relics found in his second expedition required 40 camels to load. These cultural relics have laid the foundations for the study of the Western Xia.