笔谈

to communicate by means of written notes (instead of speaking) / to publish one's opinion (e.g. as part of a scholarly dialogue) / (in book titles) essays / sketches

pen / pencil / writing brush / to write or compose / the strokes of Chinese characters / classifier for sums of money, deals / CL:支[zhi1],枝[zhi1]

surname Tan

to speak / to talk / to converse / to chat / to discuss

Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo 沈括[Shen3 Kuo4], book on various fields of knowledge, the first to describe the magnetic needle compass