The Chinese Computer

The Chinese Computer
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 372
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262047517
ISBN-13 : 0262047519
Rating : 4/5 (519 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Chinese Computer by : Thomas S. Mullaney

Download or read book The Chinese Computer written by Thomas S. Mullaney and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2024-05-28 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating, untold story of how the Chinese language overcame unparalleled challenges and revolutionized the world of computing. A standard QWERTY keyboard has a few dozen keys. How can Chinese—a language with tens of thousands of characters and no alphabet—be input on such a device? In The Chinese Computer, Thomas S. Mullaney sets out to resolve this paradox, and in doing so, discovers that the key to this seemingly impossible riddle has given rise to a new epoch in the history of writing—a form of writing he calls “hypography.” Based on fifteen years of research, this pathbreaking history of the Chinese language charts the beginnings of electronic Chinese technology in the wake of World War II up through to its many iterations in the present day. Mullaney takes the reader back through the history and evolution of Chinese language computing technology, showing the development of electronic Chinese input methods—software programs that enable Chinese characters to be produced using alphanumeric symbols—and the profound impact they have had on the way Chinese is written. Along the way, Mullaney introduces a cast of brilliant and eccentric personalities drawn from the ranks of IBM, MIT, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Taiwanese military, and the highest rungs of mainland Chinese establishment, to name a few, and the unexpected roles they played in developing Chinese language computing. Finally, he shows how China and the non-Western world—because of the hypographic technologies they had to invent in order to join the personal computing revolution—“saved” the Western computer from its deep biases, enabling it to achieve a meaningful presence in markets outside of the Americas and Europe. An eminently engaging and artfully told history, The Chinese Computer is a must-read for anyone interested in how culture informs computing and how computing, in turn, shapes culture.


The Chinese Computer Related Books

The Chinese Computer
Language: en
Pages: 372
Authors: Thomas S. Mullaney
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 2024-05-28 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The fascinating, untold story of how the Chinese language overcame unparalleled challenges and revolutionized the world of computing. A standard QWERTY keyboard
The Chinese Defense Establishment
Language: en
Pages: 162
Authors: Paul H. B. Godwin
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-06-18 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Complex issues of national security and defense modernization continue to be a major preoccupation of the PRC leadership. In the 1970s, especially during the se
The Chinese Electronics Industry
Language: en
Pages: 190
Authors: Michael Pecht
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-12-19 - Publisher: CRC Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Chinese Electronics Industry documents the technologies, capabilities, and infrastructure that has made China a major player in the Asian electronics indust
An Introduction To Chinese, Japanese And Korean Computing
Language: en
Pages: 470
Authors: Timothy D Huang
Categories: Computers
Type: BOOK - Published: 1991-11-13 - Publisher: World Scientific

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This first book of its kind gives a comprehensive introduction to Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) Computing. Every possible related issue is covered but an i
The Globalisation of Chinese Business Firms
Language: en
Pages: 336
Authors: H. Yeung
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 1999-11-23 - Publisher: Springer

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Chinese business firms and their networks of personal and business relationships, are becoming increasingly important players in the global economy. This book e