Long-lost Chinese typewriter prototype from the 1940s that changed computing
2 months ago
- #typewriter history
- #Lin Yutang
- #Chinese computing
- Discovery of a long-lost Chinese typewriter from the 1940s, the MingKwai, sheds light on the origins of modern Chinese computing.
- Invented by Lin Yutang, the MingKwai typewriter was designed to handle Chinese pictographs, a monumental challenge due to the language's complexity.
- The typewriter's design breaks down Chinese characters by shape rather than sound, a concept that influences how Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are typed today.
- Lin Yutang's work represents a middle path between preserving Chinese culture and embracing Western technology, challenging the notion that modernization requires abandoning traditional language.
- The MingKwai typewriter was recently rediscovered in upstate New York and acquired by Stanford University, where it is being restored for public display.
- Lin's typewriter was part of a broader vision for a multicultural and global China, reflecting his own bilingual and nomadic life experiences.
- The machine's ink spool, still intact, may contain traces of the last words typed by Lin or his daughter, offering a potential glimpse into the inventor's thoughts.