| 梦溪笔谈 |
Mèng Xī Bǐ tán |
Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo 沈括, book on various fields of knowledge, the first to describe the magnetic needle compass |
| 梦 |
mèng |
dream (CL:场,个) / (bound form) to dream |
| 溪 |
xī |
creek / rivulet |
| 溪 |
xī |
variant of 溪 |
| 笔 |
bǐ |
pen / pencil / writing brush / to write or compose / the strokes of Chinese characters / classifier for sums of money, deals / CL:支,枝 |
| 笔谈 |
bǐ tán |
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 |
| 谈 |
Tán |
surname Tan |
| 谈 |
tán |
to speak / to talk / to converse / to chat / to discuss |