If you want to feel old (well, if you’re Gen X and older), then try to ask people in a room how many have actually seen or used a typewriter. I’ve been in spaces where they think of those “devices” as ancient relics and have never seen an actual one except in pictures or old videos. There are still places in the Internet where you can actually purchase one, and I don’t mean those electric ones whose keys don’t make the clickety clacky sound. While old typewriters are very rare now, what if you found one that’s even more rare?
A remarkable discovery in a New York basement has brought to light a piece of technological history: the MingKwai Chinese typewriter. This unique machine, invented in 1947 by the esteemed writer and linguist Lin Yutang, boasts the capability of producing over 80,000 Chinese characters. The story began in January 2025 when Jennifer Felix and her husband Nelson were sorting through items in Jennifer’s grandfather’s basement. Among the forgotten relics, they stumbled upon an unusual typewriter with a keyboard filled with Chinese characters. Intrigued, Nelson posted photos in a Facebook group dedicated to typewriter enthusiasts, “What’s My Typewriter Worth?”.
Designer: Lin Yutang
Nelson’s post sparked interest, with members quickly identifying the machine as a MingKwai Chinese typewriter. Lin Yutang, its inventor, aimed to simplify the complex task of typing in Chinese, which traditionally required enormous keyboards with thousands of individual characters. The MingKwai system ingeniously organized characters by a phonetic system, making it significantly more user-friendly.
Despite its innovative design, the MingKwai typewriter had a limited production run and remained relatively obscure, especially in the United States. Finding one after more than half a century is a rare occurrence, making this discovery all the more significant for historians and collectors alike. The weight of the machine, which Nelson noted as “a ton,” hints at the intricate mechanics involved in handling such a vast character set.
What Lin Yutang did was create a keyboard that had 72 options that you could combine to create the character you wanted. You needed to press one of the 36 top character component keys and one of the 28 bottom component keys at the same time and the machine would find up to 8 corresponding characters. Users can then see the options through a special viewing window called the “magic eye” and select the one they want to use by pushing the respective numerical key. Sounds like a lot of work by today’s standards but at that time, it was probably considered an innovative way of typing Chinese characters out.
The rediscovery of the MingKwai offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of Chinese language processing and the ingenious attempts to bridge the gap between the complexity of the written language and the practicality of mechanical typing. While the age of typewriters has largely passed, the MingKwai stands as a testament to the innovative spirit of its inventor and the enduring quest to make communication more accessible. They’re planning to use this for research, academic programs, and exhibits.
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