[1] The "large script", or "big characters" (大字), as it was referred to in some Chinese sources, was established to keep the record of the new Khitan state.

The large script has a few similarities to Chinese, with several words taken directly with or without modifications from the Chinese (e.g. characters 二, 三, 十, 廿, 月, and 日, which appear in dates in the apparently bilingual Xiao Xiaozhong muzhi inscription from Xigushan, Jinxi, Liaoning Province).

[6] The Memorial for Yelü Yanning (dated 986 CE) is one of the earliest inscriptions in the Khitan large script.

According to some sources, the discoveries of inscriptions on monuments and epitaphs give clues to the connection between Khitan and Jurchen.

In addition to monumental inscriptions, short inscriptions in both Khitan scripts have also been found on tomb murals and rock paintings, and on various portable artefacts such as mirrors, amulets, paiza (tablets of authority given to officials and envoys), and special non-circulation coins.