19世紀中葉以前的東亞地區，是一個漢文化圈的所在。其中的一項重要標誌是，在這個文化圈中的知識人，都能够運用漢字進行著述和交流，並且以此爲榮。當東亞各國的文人面對面交流的時候，就産生了一種特别的方式—筆談。“筆談”一詞，顧名思義就是用筆而不用舌、用文字而不用語言的交談。狹義的“筆談”，特指同文不同語的兩國或兩國以上人士會面之時，用書寫文字代替語言來進行溝通交流的一種方式。本文所要討論的，就屬於狹義的“筆談”，討論的時段下限是20世紀以前。文章著重回顧了筆談文獻的整理和研究狀況，並對其得失予以評騭，在此基礎上，提出了研究展望，强調了“作爲方法的漢文化圈”。

Before the mid-nineteenth century, the East Asian area was a Chinese cultural circle. One important indicator is the fact that all the intellectuals of this cultural circle could use Chinese characters to write and to communicate. And, they took pride in it. When the literati of East Asia communicated face to face, a special means was employed, namely “brush talk.” The term “brush talk” literally means communicating with the writing brush rather than the tongue, with characters rather than language. In a narrow sense, it refers specifically to the method of communication that is conducted via the written language instead of spoken language at a meeting between people from two or more countries who share a common writing form but differ in speaking. The present essay discusses “brush talk” in its narrow sense. The period of its discussion is no later than the twentieth century. It reviews and evaluates the documented history and scholarship of “brush talks.” On this basis, we put forth our scholarly prospects and emphasize “the Chinese cultural circle as a method.”