The ''Soyombo'' symbol is a special character in the Soyombo alphabet invented by Zanabazar in 1686. The name "Soyombo" is derived from Sanskrit ''

svayambhu Svayambhu () is a Sanskrit word that means "self-born", "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that that is created by its own accord". Various deities and entities featured in Hindu literature and tradition are regarded to be svayambhu, such as ...

'' "self-created". The Soyombo symbol serves both as a traditional symbol of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District since 2018. To its nort ...

and

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

, and as a national symbol of

, to be found on the Flag of Mongolia, the Emblem of Mongolia, and on many other official documents. In the Soyombo alphabet, the two variations of the Soyombo symbol are used to mark the start and end of a text. It is thought to be possible that the symbol itself may predate the script.

Symbolism

The Soyombo has ten elements in the columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric symbols and patterns. They are fire, sun, crescent moon, two triangles, two horizontal rectangles, the ''

Taijitu In Chinese philosophy, a ''taijitu'' () is a Character (symbol), symbol or diagram () representing ''Taiji (philosophy), taiji'' () in both its monist (''Wuji (philosophy), wuji'') and its Dualism in cosmology, dualist (yin and yang) forms in a ...

'' (

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

), and two vertical rectangles. The elements in the symbol are given the following significance (from top): * Fire is a general symbol of eternal growth, wealth, and success. The three tongues of the flame represent the past, present, and future. * Sun (●) and crescent moon symbolizes the existence of the Mongolian nation for eternity as the eternal blue sky. Mongolian symbol of the sun, crescent moon and fire derived from the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

. * The two triangles (▼) allude to the point of an arrow or spear. They point downward to announce the defeat of interior and exterior enemies. * The two horizontal rectangles (▬) give stability to the round shape. The rectangular shape represents the honesty and justice of the people of Mongolia, whether they stand at the top or at the bottom of society. * The ''

'' symbol (☯) illustrates the mutual complement of opposites. It is interpreted as two fish, symbolizing vigilance, because fish never close their eyes. * The two vertical rectangles (▮) can be interpreted as the walls of a fort. They represent unity and strength, relating to a Mongolian proverb: "The friendship of two is stronger than stone walls."

Uses

The Soyombo symbol has appeared on the national flag of Mongolia since its independence in 1911 (except between 1940 and 1945). It served as the Emblem of Mongolia from 1911 to 1940, and was included in the design again in 1960. Mongolian Armed Forces vehicles bear the symbol as a marking. The symbol is seen all over the country, especially on a hillside outside of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

. The flag and coat of arms of

as well as the flag of Agin-Buryat Okrug in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and that of the Inner Mongolian People's Party display the top elements (Flame, Sun, and Moon).

Unicode

The Soyombo symbol is available in

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

, where it is encoded in the Soyombo block (added to Unicode version 10.0 in June 2017) as a script-specific punctuation mark: * , with two reduced alternatives: * (keeping only the right tongue of the top flame) and * (with the top flame removed). These three head marks are usable along with two other related terminal marks (keeping only the two lateral vertical rectangles and replacing the central symbols): * , and * .

Flags incorporating Soyombo variants

File:Flag of Mongolia.svg, Flag of Mongolia File:Flag of Buryatia.svg, Flag of the Republic of Buryatia File:Flag of Agin-Buryatia.svg, Flag of Agin-Buryat Okrug File:Flag_of_the_Inner_Mongolian_People's_Party.svg, Flag of the Inner Mongolian People's Party

Notes

References