Western Xia

The Western Xia (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade–Giles: Hsi Hsia), also known as the Xi Xia Empire, the Tangut Empire and to the Tangut people and the Tibetans as Minyak, was an empire which existed from 1038 to 1227 in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometers.

The state suffered from devastating destruction by the Mongols who founded the Mongol Empire, including most of its written records and architecture. Its founders and history therefore remained controversial until recent research conducted both in the West and within China. The Western Xia occupied the area of important trade route between North China and Central Asia, the Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on land and water.