Chinese input method: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:28, 21 June 2023

Revision as of 08:41, 21 June 2023

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==History==

[[Image:Large chinese keyboard.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An early experimental Chinese radical keyboard using 496 keys for input was developed by researchers of [[National Chiao Tung University]] in Taiwan, but was never widely used.<ref name="xinzhu">{{cite web|url=https://hccg.culture.tw/home/zh-tw/NCTU_PC_EQUIPMENT/597871|title=1973年交大研製第一個中文鍵盤|website=The memory of Hsinchu city|language=zh|access-date=2022-08-25}}</ref>]]

Chinese input methods predate the computer. One of the early attempts was an electro-mechanical [[Chinese typewriter]] Ming kwai ({{zh|c=明快 |p=míngkuài |w=ming-k'uai}}) which was invented by [[Lin Yutang]], a prominent Chinese writer, in the 1940s. It assigned thirty base shapes or strokes to different keys and adopted a new way of categorizing Chinese characters. But the typewriter was not produced commercially and Lin soon found himself deeply in debt.<ref>[http://203.68.20.65/science/content/1972/00110035/0018.htm 中文與計算機] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20030513120935/http://203.68.20.65/science/content/1972/00110035/0018.htm |date=2003-05-13 }}</ref>

Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set. Chinese government agencies entered characters using a long, complicated list of [[Chinese telegraph code]]s, which assigned different numbers to each character. During the early computer era, Chinese characters were categorized by their radicals or Pinyin romanization, but results were less than satisfactory.

In the 1970s to 1980s, large keyboards with thousands of keys were used to input Chinese. Each key was mapped to several Chinese characters. To type a character, one pressed the character key and then a selection key.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=3D8D8DCA190E4CB90399EE2FB91F93CC|title=汉字整字键盘盘面字排列 |website=Standardization Administration of China |year=1987|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.facebook.com/mitac.com.tw/photos/%E7%A5%9E%E9%80%9A%E8%B3%87%E7%A7%91%E7%9A%84%E5%89%8D%E8%BA%AB%E7%A5%9E%E9%80%9A%E9%9B%BB%E8%85%A6%E6%96%BC1979%E5%B9%B4%E5%87%BA%E5%93%81%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E4%BB%A3%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E7%B5%82%E7%AB%AF%E6%A9%9F-ccrt-280%E4%B8%AD%E9%96%93%E4%B8%80%E5%85%B1%E6%9C%89320%E5%80%8B%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E6%AF%8F%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E6%9C%8916%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E6%AF%8F%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E5%86%8D%E5%B0%8D%E6%87%8916%E5%80%8B%E4%BD%8D%E7%BD%AE%E9%8D%B5%E7%B8%BD%E5%85%B1%E5%8F%AF%E4%BB%A5%E7%B5%84%E5%90%88%E5%87%BA/1254122301286963/|title=Mitac 神通資訊科技 - 神通資科的前身「神通電腦」於1979年出品的第二代中文終端機 (CCRT 280)，中間一共有320個中文字鍵，每個字鍵有16個字，每一個字鍵再對應16個位置鍵，總共可以組合出5000個中文字，實在是非常酷呢！|website=Facebook|date=2016-08-26|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref> There were also experimental "radical keyboards" with dozens to several hundreds keys. Chinese characters were decomposed into "radicals", each of which was represented by a key.<ref name="xinzhu"/><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ir.nctu.edu.tw/handle/11536/137495 |authorsauthor1=謝清俊, |author2=黃永文, |author3=林樹|title=中文字根之分析|journal=Science Bulletin National Chiao-Tung University|volume=6|issue=1|year=1973}}</ref><ref name="zhzn"/> Unwieldy and difficult to use, these keyboards became obsolete after the introduction of Cangjie input method, the first method to use only the standard keyboard and make Chinese [[touch typing]] possible.<ref name="zhzn">{{cite book|url=http://www.open-lit.com/bid=506&id=18353|chapter=三、電腦 倉頡、天龍、零壹、漢卡|title=智慧之旅. 第3部, 炎夏(一九七三-一九九五) |author=朱邦復|publisher=時報出版|year=1995}}</ref>

[[Image:Keyboard layout cangjie.png|thumb|200px|A typical [[keyboard layout]] for the Cangjie method, which is based on the [[keyboard layout#United States|United States keyboard layout]]]]

[[Chu Bong-Foo]] invented a common input method in 1976 with his [[Cangjie input method]], which assigns different "roots" to each key on a standard computer keyboard. With this method, for example, the character 日 is assigned to the A key, and 月 is assigned to B. Typing them together will result in the character 明 ("bright").

[[Image:2008 Taipei IT Month Day1 InstantDict MD6800.jpg|200px|thumb|An electronic dictionary with Cangjie keyboard]]

Despite its steeper learning curve, this method remains popular in Chinese communities that use [[traditional Chinese character]]s, such as [[Hong Kong]] and [[Taiwan]]; the method allows very precise input, thus allowing users to type more efficiently and quickly, provided they are familiar with the fairly complicated rules of the method. It was the first method that allowed users to enter more than a hundred Chinese characters per minute. Its popularity is also helped by its omnipresence on traditional Chinese computer systems, since Chu has given up its patent in 1982, stating that it should be part of the cultural asset. Developers of Chinese systems can adopt it freely, and users do not have the hassle of it being absent on devices with Chinese support.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://epaper.naer.edu.tw/edm.php?grp_no=2&edm_no=33&content_no=875|title=教育科技的專利與普及|author=朱麟華|journal= 國家教育研究院電子報|year=2012|issue=33}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.cw.com.tw/index.php/article/5036251?from=search|title=朱邦復的人文科技夢|year=1999|issue=219|journal=天下雜誌|author=藍麗娟|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref> Cangjie input programs supporting large [[CJK Unified Ideographs|CJK character]] set have been developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rime.im/|title=中州韻輸入法引擎|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chinesecj.com/|title=倉頡之友|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mingpaomonthly.com/article/details/%E6%80%9D%E6%BD%AE%EF%BC%8E%E5%8B%95%E5%90%91%2F2012-03%2F1590998177213%2F%E9%8C%A2%E9%8D%BE%E6%9B%B8%E5%85%88%E7%94%9F%E8%88%87%E3%80%8C%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E5%8F%A4%E5%85%B8%E6%95%B8%E5%AD%97%E5%B7%A5%E7%A8%8B%E3%80%8D%E3%80%80%EF%BC%88%E7%94%B0%20%E5%A5%95%EF%BC%89|title=錢鍾書先生與「中國古典數字工程」|author=田奕|date=2012-03-02|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>

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==== Shuangpin ====

[[File:Microsoft Double Pinyin Scheme.png|thumb|420pxupright=1.35|The Microsoft pinyin 2003 shuangpin scheme.]]

Shuangpin (雙拼; 双拼), literally dual spell, is a stenographical phonetic [[input method]] based on [[hanyu pinyin]] that reduces the number of keystrokes for one [[Chinese character]] to two by distributing every vowel and consonant composed of more than one letter to a specific key. In most Shuangpin layout schemes such as Xiaohe, Microsoft 2003 and Ziranma, the most frequently used vowels are placed on the middle layer, reducing the risk of [[repetitive strain injury]].

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== See also ==

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

* [[List of input methods for Unix platforms]]

* [[List of CJK fonts]]

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** [[Unicode]]

** [[Chinese telegraph code|Telegraph code]] (電報碼)

{{div col end}}

== External links ==