The Dongba script appears to be an independent ancient writing system, though presumably it was created in the environment of older scripts. According to Dongba religious fables, the Dongba script was created by the founder of the Bön religious tradition of Tibet, Tönpa Shenrab (Tibetan: "ston pa gshen rab)" or Shenrab Miwo (Tibetan: "gshen rab mi bo)," while traditional Naxi genealogies attribute the script to a 13th Century king named Móubǎo Āzōng. From Chinese historical documents, it is clear that dongba was used as early as the 7th century, during the early Tang Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty in the 10th century, dongba was widely used by the Naxi people. It continues to be used in certain areas; thus, it is the only pictographic writing system in the world still actively maintained.