The origins of the Yi script are unknown, though it is believed that it was invented during the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) by Aki (阿畸 or 阿〇). The earliest known examples of Yi writing date from 1485 but some of the numerous manuscripts and monumental inscriptions in the Yi script might be older than that. Yi, a member of the Loloish branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family spoken by about 4 or 5 million people in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Fictional Languages, Ancient Writing, Grammar And Vocabulary, Alphabet