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The Chinese Typewriter: A History
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History Hardback - 2017

by Thomas S. Mullaney

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From the publisher

How Chinese characters triumphed over the QWERTY keyboard and laid the foundation for China's information technology successes today.

Chinese writing is character based, the one major world script that is neither alphabetic nor syllabic. Through the years, the Chinese written language encountered presumed alphabetic universalism in the form of Morse Code, Braille, stenography, Linotype, punch cards, word processing, and other systems developed with the Latin alphabet in mind. This book is about those encounters--in particular thousands of Chinese characters versus the typewriter and its QWERTY keyboard. Thomas Mullaney describes a fascinating series of experiments, prototypes, failures, and successes in the century-long quest for a workable Chinese typewriter.

The earliest Chinese typewriters, Mullaney tells us, were figments of popular imagination, sensational accounts of twelve-foot keyboards with 5,000 keys. One of the first Chinese typewriters actually constructed was invented by a Christian missionary, who organized characters by common usage (but promoted the less-common characters for "Jesus to the common usage level). Later came typewriters manufactured for use in Chinese offices, and typewriting schools that turned out trained "typewriter girls" and "typewriter boys." Still later was the "Double Pigeon" typewriter produced by the Shanghai Calculator and Typewriter Factory, the typewriter of choice under Mao. Clerks and secretaries in this era experimented with alternative ways of organizing characters on their tray beds, inventing an input method that was the first instance of "predictive text."

Today, after more than a century of resistance against the alphabetic, not only have Chinese characters prevailed, they form the linguistic substrate of the vibrant world of Chinese information technology. The Chinese Typewriter, not just an "object history" but grappling with broad questions of technological change and global communication, shows how this happened.

A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Columbia University

Details

  • Title The Chinese Typewriter: A History
  • Author Thomas S. Mullaney
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition Hardback
  • Pages 504
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. and London.
  • Publication date 2017-08
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780262036368 / 0262036363
  • Weight 1.7 lbs (0.77 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 in (23.37 x 16.26 x 3.30 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Technology & Industrial Arts
  • Library of Congress subjects Typewriters - History, Chinese language - Writing - History
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2016050197
  • Dewey Decimal Code 681.61

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The Chinese Typewriter: A History
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History

by Mullaney, Thomas S.

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9780262036368 / 0262036363
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MIT Press, 2013. Hardcover. Acceptable. Missing dust jacket; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

by Mullaney, Thomas S

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The MIT Press, 0000-00-00. 1. hardcover. Used: Good. 7.00x1.25x10.00. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia...
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

by Mullaney, Thomas S.

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262036368 / 0262036363
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hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
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The Chinese Typewriter: A History (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia...

The Chinese Typewriter: A History (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

by Mullaney, Thomas S

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Mit Pr, 2013. hardcover. Good. 7x1x10. Clean pages with no markings.Minor wear on edges and corners. Ships same day in most cases!The image in this listing is stock photo for reference. Actual item may differ. Any queries, just ask for photos. Your satisfaction matters!
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A$144.85
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