Editing Western Xia (section)

== Name ==
The full title of the Western Xia as named by their own state is {{Tangut|L1572 L1890 L2937 L4456}} reconstructed as {{IPA|/*phiow¹-bjij²-lhjij-lhjij²/}}, which word by word denotes 'white', 'high', 'kingdom', 'great', or {{Tangut|𗴂𗹭𘜶𗴲𗂧|L1572 L1890 L4457 L0071 L2937}}, 'white', 'high', 'great', 'summer', 'kingdom'. The corresponding Chinese name, {{lang|zh|白高大夏國}} ("White High Great Xia State"), was also used. Chinese and Japanese scholars commonly interpret the first two words as "upper reaches of the White River", which was possibly referring to the [[Yellow River]].{{sfn|Kepping|1994|p=364}} [[Ksenia Kepping|Kepping]] (1994) proposed the translation "the Kingdom of the Great Xia of the White and Lofty", and suggested that the name refers to a peak in the [[Helan Mountains]] named the "White and Lofty Mother".{{sfn|Kepping|1994|p=373}} The region was known to the Tanguts as {{IPA|/mjɨ-njaa/}}, and to the Tibetans as Minyak.<ref name="Stein 1972, pp. 70–71" /><ref>Dorje (1999), p. 444.</ref> Another name the Tanguts used for their state was {{IPA|/khjɨ-dwuu-lhjij/}} ({{lang|zh|萬祕國}}), which means the "State of Ten Thousand Secrets".{{sfn|Kepping|1994|p=373}} "Western Xia" or "Xi Xia" is the state's Chinese name. "Western" refers to its location to the west of the [[Liao dynasty|Liao]] (916–1125) and [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]] (1115–1234) dynasties, as well as the Song. "Xia" (pointing to the [[Xia dynasty]]) is a historical name for the region that originated from the 5th-century [[Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Hu Xia dynasty]].{{sfn|Kepping|1994|pp=359-361}}

The name Tangut is derived from a form first found in the [[Orkhon inscriptions]] dated to 735, which is transcribed in Chinese as Tangwu or Tangute (''Tangghut'' (<!--{{MongolUnicode|ᠲᠠᠩᠭᠤᠳ}} -->''Tangɣud'') in [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]). Tangut was used a common name for certain tribes in the [[Amdo]]-Kokonor-[[Gansu]] region until the 19th century. The Tanguts called themselves Minag, transcribed in Chinese as Mianyao or Miyao.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=156}}