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The Journal of Development Studies· 2026Q1

The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age

John Paul DiMoia

Short summary

Thomas Mullaney's "The Chinese Computer" traces the historical challenges and innovations in adapting Chinese characters for the information age, arguing that these efforts fundamentally shaped computing and digital technology globally.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Key points

  • The book examines the historical difficulties in adapting Chinese characters for early computing technologies.
  • It argues that solving the 'Chinese character problem' drove innovation in areas like keyboard design and character encoding.
  • These innovations had a global impact, shaping the development of modern digital systems.
  • The work challenges a Western-centric view of the information age by centering Chinese contributions.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

Building upon his previous work, The Chinese Typewriter (2018), Thomas Mullaney’s The Chinese Computer tackles an ambitious research agenda, focusing on questions of orthography, the challenge of e...

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The Journal of Development Studies, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Field: Computer Science Applications

Computer Science ApplicationsComputer Science