How Every Computer Is a Chinese Computer (twirling the cord with Thomas Mullaney)

 Amid the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War, the Chinese computer emerged. Despite the complexity of formatting tens of thousands of characters for digital use, the race for ingenuity resulted in the revolutionary computing of non-Latin script and unprecedented typing speeds — feats that continue to shape the devices we use today. Join Policy Prompt hosts for a deep dive into the history of digital technology in China with Thomas S. Mullaney, American sinologist, professor at Stanford University and author of The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age (MIT Press, 2024). 

Mentioned:

• Thomas S. Mullaney, The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age (MIT Press, 2024)
• Tom Mullaney, “America has a rich history of innovation by Asian immigrants” (Quartz, May 29, 2021)
• Thomas S. Mullaney, The Chinese Typewriter: A History (MIT Press, 2018)
• SILICON (Stanford Initiative on Language Inclusion and Conservation in Old and New Media)

Further Reading: 

• Your Computer Is on Fire, edited by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks and Kavita Philip (MIT Press, 2021)
• Tom Mullaney, “Behind the painstaking process of creating Chinese computer fonts” (MIT Technology Review, May 31, 2021)
• Thomas S. Mullaney, “QWERTY in China: Chinese Computing and the Radical Alphabet” (Technology and Culture 59 (4): S34–S65)

Credits:
Policy Prompt is produced by Vass Bednar and Paul Samson. Our technical producers are Tim Lewis and Melanie DeBonte. Fact-checking and background research provided by Reanne Cayenne. Marketing by Kahlan Thomson. Brand design by Abhilasha Dewan and creative direction by Som Tsoi.

Original music by Joshua Snethlage.

Sound mix and mastering by François Goudreault.

Special thanks to creative consultant Ken Ogasawara.

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