Cangjie method

The Cangjie method (仓颉输入法) is a system by which Chinese characters may be entered into the computer. Invented in 1979 by Chu Bang Fu (朱邦復), the method is named after Cangjie, the man usually attributed with the invention of the first writing system of China.

Unlike pinyin, Cangjie is based on the morphological aspect of the characters wherein each basic, graphical unit is represented by a letter from the Roman alphabet. Within the letters-to-characters representations, there also exists four subsections of characters: the Philisophical Set (comprised of the letters 'A' to 'G' and representing the elements), the Strokes Set (comprised of the letters 'H' to 'N' and representing the brief and subtle strokes), the Body-related Set (comprised of the letters 'O' to 'R' and representing various parts of the human anatomy), and the Shapes Set (comprised of the letters 'S' to 'Y' and representing complex and encompassing character forms).

In order to input using Cangjie, one must be learned in the construction of each character and its basic mnemonics. A lead character serves as an anchor by which other mnemonics will attach themselves to (in most instances these are radicals). For example, in order to enter the character "车" (Che1), meaning "vehicle", one would input 十田十 (the second, "Tian2", is based off the Traditional method of writing this character.