摘要：Dr. Kuzmin is an independent scholar specializing in Tangut and Silk Road studies. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Penn

CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is hosting a summer language workshop on Lesser Taught Research Languages. This year it is featuring Tangut. It will take place over five sessions and will be led by Dr. Nikita Kuzmin.

Dr. Kuzmin is an independent scholar specializing in Tangut and Silk Road studies. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023, with a dissertation focused on pilgrimages to Dunhuang during the Tangut rule. Since 2021, Nikita has collaborated with Charles University in Prague, where he has developed and taught several Tangut reading courses. Currently, he is involved in Mandarin Chinese education while continuing his research on the social and religious history of the Tangut.

Synopsis of Workshop

The Tangut language, an extinct Sino-Tibetan language, was once spoken in the Western Xia kingdom (1038-1227). The discovery of Tangut and Chinese texts in Khara-khoto, Inner Mongolia, gave rise to the field of Tangut studies. However, due to the complexity of the Tangut script, research on the Western Xia remains relatively underrepresented in contemporary East Asian studies.

This 12-hour Tangut reading workshop is designed to introduce participants to the foundational skills needed for reading Tangut, equipping them to apply these techniques in their own research. In the first two sessions, students will be introduced to the field of Tangut studies and learn the basics of the Tangut script and grammar. Beginning in the third session, students will engage in reading both religious and secular Tangut texts under the instructor’s guidance. By the end of the course, students will be able to independently read and translate simple Tangut texts with the aid of reference materials and online resources.

来源：宋史研究资讯