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Chinese mechanical typewriter

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  • AxtremusA Offline
    AxtremusA Offline
    Axtremus
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/nyregion/mingkwai-typewriter-china.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Yk8.erCr.ASI-r0OfVEOh

    I didn't think one could exists, yet many apparently do. This article focus on a specimen called the MingKwai. The inventor Lin Yutang figured out a way to mechanically use 72 keys to type out thousands of Chinese characters. (The biggest Chinese dictionary I am aware of catalogs 50k+ characters; most people believe that about 3k+ characters are enough for day-to-day use. So a typewriter would at need to handle 3k+ characters to be practical.) The inventor bankrupted himself developing it after failing to sell it to Remington. It's recent been sold to Stanford's museum.

    One of these days, I hope I will get to see and try my hands on a mechanical Chinese typewriter.

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    • A Offline
      A Offline
      AndyD
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Fascinating story/article, thanks Ax; shall share with my family

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      • D Offline
        D Offline
        Daniel.
        wrote last edited by
        #3

        @Axtremus Yes, fascinating. Thanks.

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