Western Xia - Name

Name

The full title of the Western Xia as named by their own state is "" reconstructed as /*phiow¹-bjij²-lhjij-lhjij²/ which translates as "The Great Xia State of the White and the Lofty" (白高大夏國), or called "mjɨ-njaa" or "khjɨ-dwuu-lhjij" (萬秘國). The region was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak (彌藥).

Its reference as "Western Xia" came from the Chinese record of "Xi-Xia" (西夏), literally "Western Xia", and thus that name is often used in sinological literature. It was derived from its location on the western side of the Yellow River, in contrast to the Liao (916–1125) and Jin (1115–1234) on its east, and the Song Dynasty in the south. The English reference of "Tangut" comes from the Mongolian name for the country, Tangghut (Taŋɣud), believed to reflect the same word as "Dangxiang" (党項) found in Chinese literature.