’Phags-pa script

E578719

The ’Phags-pa script is a historical writing system devised in the 13th century for the Mongol Empire to serve as a unified script for multiple languages, including Mongolian and Chinese.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
’Phags-pa script canonical 5
Phagspa script 2
Phags-pa 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf alphabet
historical script
writing system
associatedDynasty Yuan dynasty
associatedRuler Kublai Khan
classification Central Asian writing system
commissionedBy Kublai Khan
creator Drogön Chögyal Phagpa
linked to: Chögyal Phagpa

Phagpa Lama
linked to: Chögyal Phagpa
currentUse epigraphic decipherment
scholarly study
declinePeriod late 14th century
derivedFrom Tibetan script
developedFor Mongol Empire
hasFeature adapted to write Chinese syllables
based on Tibetan letter shapes rotated for vertical writing
distinct letters for vowels and consonants
historicalImportance early attempt at a pan-Eurasian imperial script
iso15924Code Phag
namedAfter Phagpa
linked to: Chögyal Phagpa
officialStatus official script of the Yuan dynasty
purpose unified script for the Mongol Empire
region Mongolia
Yuan dynasty China
linked to: Yuan dynasty
replacedBy classical Mongolian script
traditional Chinese characters
scriptDirection top-to-bottom
scriptFamily Brahmic scripts
scriptOrientation columns ordered left-to-right
status historical
timePeriod 13th century
unicodeBlock Phags-pa
linked to: ’Phags-pa script
unicodeRange U+A840–U+A87F
use Chinese language
Mongolian language
linked to: Mongolian

Sanskrit language
Tibetan language
Uyghur language
usedBy Yuan dynasty administration
usedFor coins
imperial inscriptions
official documents
seals
usedIn multilingual edicts
trilingual inscriptions
writingDirection vertical
writingSystemType segmental alphabet
yearCreated 1260s

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Dadu usedScript ’Phags-pa script
Great Yuan writingSystem ’Phags-pa script
Da Yuan writingSystem ’Phags-pa script
Yesün Temür usedScript ’Phags-pa script
’Phags-pa script unicodeBlock Phags-pa
linked to: ’Phags-pa script
Mongol-ruled China writingSystem ’Phags-pa script
Chögyal Phagpa notableWork Phagspa script
linked to: ’Phags-pa script
Chögyal Phagpa designed Phagspa script
linked to: ’Phags-pa script