"There is one pictographic language left in the world."
The Library of Congress's Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection features the only pictographic writing system still in use today: ceremonial texts by the Naxi people of Yunnan Province, China. The simplified, illustrative system resembles a series of drawn glyphs similar to Egyptian or Mayan hieroglyphs, with many recognizable figures of animals and objects. Practicing Naxi priests, called "dongbas," use this system to produce manuscripts, which are used for standard ceremonies such as funerals and blessings.