Diela
Encyclopedia
Yelü Diela younger brother of Khitan Emperor Yelü Abaoji
, invented the "Khitan small script
" to accommodate the more agglutinative Khitan language
about 925 — based partly on the earlier "Khitan large script
" or Chinese-like logographic writing, but also after having been inspired by the vertically written Old Uyghur alphabet
that was shown to him by an ambassador.
Emperor Taizu of Liao
The Emperor Taizu of Liao was the first emperor of the Liao Dynasty . His given name was Abaoji . Some sources also suggest that the surname Yelü was adopted during his lifetime, though there is no unanimity on this point....
, invented the "Khitan small script
Khitan small script
The Khitan small script was one of two writing systems used for the now-extinct Khitan language. It was used during the 10th-12th century by the Khitan people, who had created the Liao Empire in north-eastern China. In addition to the small script, the Khitans simultaneously also used a...
" to accommodate the more agglutinative Khitan language
Khitan language
The Khitan language is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people . Khitan is generally deemed to be genetically linked to the Mongolic languages. It was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script...
about 925 — based partly on the earlier "Khitan large script
Khitan large script
The Khitan large script was one of two writing systems used for the now-extinct Khitan language. It was used during the 10th-12th centuries by the Khitan people, who had created the Liao Empire in north-eastern China. In addition to the large script, the Khitans simultaneously also used a...
" or Chinese-like logographic writing, but also after having been inspired by the vertically written Old Uyghur alphabet
Uyghur alphabet
Uyghur is a Turkic language spoken in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, administered by China, by the Uyghur people. It is a language with a long literary tradition, and has been written using numerous writing systems through time...
that was shown to him by an ambassador.