Phags-pa (Unicode block) explained

Blockname:	Phags-pa
Rangestart:	A840
Rangeend:	A87F
Script1:	Phags Pa
Alphabets:	Mongolian Chinese
5 0:	56
Note:	^[1] ^[2]

Phags-pa is a Unicode block containing characters from the 'Phags-pa script promulgated as a national script by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty. It was used primarily in writing Mongolian and Chinese, although it was intended for the use of all written languages of the Mongol Empire.

Block

The block has six variation sequences defined for standardized variants.^[3] They use (VS01):

Variation sequences for reversed shaping! U+ !! Character !! Base code point !! Base + VS01

A856	Phags‑Pa Letter Small A
A85C	Phags‑Pa Letter Ha
A85E	Phags‑Pa Letter I
A85F	Phags‑Pa Letter U
A860	Phags‑Pa Letter E
A868	Phags‑Pa Subjoined Letter Ya

Note that four vowel letters have positional variants:

Positional forms of I, U, E, and O! U+! Character! Orientation! Isolate! Initial! Medial! Final

U+A85E	Phags‑Pa Letter I	regular
		reversed
U+A85F	Phags‑Pa Letter U	regular
		reversed
U+A860	Phags‑Pa Letter E	regular
		reversed
U+A861	Phags‑Pa Letter O	regular

History

The following Unicode-related documents record the purpose and process of defining specific characters in the Phags-pa block:

		Count	L2 ID	WG2 ID	Document
5.0	U+A840..A877	56		doc)
				N2622
				N2666
				N2912
				N2706
				N2719
				N2745
				N2771
				N2829
				N2870
				N2869
				N2869c
				N2871
				N2922
				N2964
				N2972
				N2979
				doc)
				N4435
				doc)
				N5012

Notes and References

1. Web site: Unicode character database. The Unicode Standard. 2023-07-26.
2. Web site: Enumerated Versions of The Unicode Standard. The Unicode Standard. 2023-07-26.
3. Web site: Unicode Character Database: Standardized Variation Sequences . The Unicode Consortium.