Mastodawn

Fascinating story about the development of the MingKwai device - designed to retrieve Chinese characters in an accessible way and then imprint the chosen character on paper.

With 72 keys and three keystrokes, it was possible to create the 80,000.

Only one, the prototype, was ever produced...

It was discovered in the basement of an Upstate NY house!

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/05/mingkwai-chinese-typewriter-prototype-stanford-libraries

#MingKwai #Typewriter #History #China #Mandarin #Language

MingKwai prototype, the ‘origin of Chinese computing,’ finds a home at Stanford

Lost for more than half a century, the rare Chinese typewriter whose name means “clear and fast” was discovered in a New York basement and entrusted to Stanford Libraries.