The Chinese Computer

"“At a time when Chinese quantum computers and Chinese AI systems and Chinese electric vehicles absorb all headline buzz and pundit bloviation, Professor Thomas S. Mullaney’s text draws our attention to a humbler and arguably more important technology: the Chinese input method editor (IME). . . . This is essential reading.” —ChinAI ""The Chinese Typewriter and The Chinese Computer are two of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. And they’re not just good and interesting, but important to read, for the history they tell and the ideas and arguments they present—I can’t recommend them and Professor Mullaney’s other work enough."" —The Gradient “Mullaney has written an informative and enjoyable history. . . . Whoever thought that a book about ‘hypographic semiotics’ could be so absorbing? Geeks will enjoy the computing conundrums and Sinophiles will love the history; laymen, too, will learn plenty.” —The Economist “Mullaney’s careful documenting of the typing machines of the last century. . . . reveals a story that’s tumultuous and chaotic. . . . An endless unfurling of something always in the process of becoming a fuller version of itself.” —MIT Technology Review “Though well-informed by archival research, it is written in the style of a Time magazine story, with colorful biographical digressions and mostly decorative details calculated to make readers feel they are being let in on ‘insider’ information. As a work of popular history, it largely succeeds, but Mullaney aims for more, and, in so doing, spoils the book.” —Sino-Platonic Papers"