The Impossible Chinese Typewriter

Video Description

Ever wondered how Chinese people used typewriters? This video tells the strange and fascinating story of how the Chinese fit 90,000 characters into a single typewriter. Join ♣️ The Linguist List ♣️ to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPmflIzM_mpBWGTVMGevxg/join [Timeline] [00:00] Introduction [00:38] You're a Chinese Engineering Student [01:07] How Typewriters Work [02:14] An American Missionary's Invention (1st Chinese Typewriter) [04:14] A Chinese Engineer's Invention [05:42] Who's Zhou Houkun? [07:44] Passing on the Torch (Shu Zhendong) [09:19] Problems with the Chinese Typewriter [10:06] A New Player Emerges (Lin Yutang) [11:14] A New Way of Thinking (Chinese organized by stroke order) [14:12] Birth of the Mingkwai Typewriter [17:36] Closing Thoughts [18:22] Acknowledgments & Special Thanks 【For Further Reading/Watching】 【Books】 "Kingdom of Characters" by Jing Tsu (2022) "The Chinese Typewriter" by Thomas Mullaney (2017) 【Articles/Book Chapters】 A Professor's Hunt for the Rarest Chinese Typewriter (NY Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/nyregion/mingkwai-typewriter-china.html The Technê Whim: Lin Yutang and the Invention of the Chinese Typewriter (R. John Williams) https://rjohnwilliams.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/williams-american-literature-82-21.pdf Chinese Typewriters (中文打字机） https://maoeraobjects.ac.uk/object-biographies/chinese-typewriters/ 【Videos】 【何同学】我们做了一个中文打字机... (HTX Studio) （He Student) We Made a Chinese Typewriter... (HTX Studio) https://youtu.be/yNoWMaOyWHY?si=QQRekOBw79Fp3OyD 1988年中文打字机使用演示 (辨胆汾悼谅bo) Demonstration of an 1988 Chinese Typewriter https://haokan.baidu.com/v?pd=wisenatural&vid=7402609460286693651 【双鸽中文机械打字机有用过的朋友吗。】 (Has anyone tried to use the Double Pigeon Chinese Typewriter?) https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1bLzhYrELW/?share_source=copy_web 【Special Thanks to】 The Huntington www.instagram.com/thehuntingtonlibrary (Vintage Chinese Typewriter) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MxloZhO8spA 【Resources Used】 www.pixabay.com www.pexels.com SAY HI! Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/julesytooshoes