Tangut dharani pillars

The only other known example of an inscription in the Tangut script that has been found in north China is on the 14th-century Cloud Platform at Juyongguan in Beijing.

[3] The two pillars were discovered in 1962 in the village of Hanzhuang (韓莊) in the northern suburbs of the city of Baoding, in Hebei province, 140 kilometres (87 mi) south-west of Beijing.

The site was a square platform (150m × 150m), about 2m above the surrounding ground, on which was scattered broken pieces of tiles and bricks dating to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

[7] As of 2013[update] they are standing in a courtyard near the main entrance to the Ancient Lotus Pond, among other historic monumental inscriptions.

[5] The first column of Tangut text on the first face of Pillar A explains that it was erected in the 15th year of the Hongzhi era (1502) by the abbot Phesho Chashirerje' 𗦮𗊻𗲁𗫍𗣀𗫻 (平尚吒失領占) in memory of the novice monk Pada Donje 𗴟𘃕𗹏𗘦 (巴答那征), who died on the 24th day of the 4th month of the 14th year of the Hongzhi era (1501).

[11] Pillar B also has a single line of Chinese text which states that it was erected in the 10th month of the 15th year of the Hongzhi era (1502) by the abbot Zhashi Lingzhan (吒失領占).

The Cloud Platform Buddhist inscriptions were made during the late Yuan Dynasty, in 1345, more than 150 years before the Baoding pillars were erected.