Tried to save file as gb2312 instead of big5 $ emacs -q --no-site-file /usr/lib/cce/pinyin.map C-x <return> f g b <tab> <return> C-x C-w / t m p / g <return> C-x C-v <return> But couldn't see it in gb2312... it just stays in big5, maybe due to $ env|grep -i tw LANG=zh_TW.Big5 LC_CTYPE=zh_TW.Big5 or paltry instructions in (describe-function (quote set-buffer-file-coding-system))