A textual research on Tangut philological work Tongming Zazi

Abstract This paper discusses a recently found Tangut xylograph Zeyao Changchuan Tongming Zazi. The two prefaces of this book state that it was compiled for recognizing and reading Tangut characters correctly. Its main purpose is to help people to read sūtras, so the author is expected to be a Buddhist. The prefaces mentioned two well-known Tangut dictionaries, Homophone and Synonymous, which were printed in 1170 and 1188. Therefore, Tongming Zazi was printed no earlier than 1188