Qingtan

Qingtan (清談, Wade-Giles: Ch'ing-t'an), translated as "pure conversation," was a movement related to Taoism that developed during the Wei-Jin (魏晉) period and continued on through the Southern and Northern dynasties. Qingtan involved witty conversation or debates about metaphysics and philosophy. It was especially popular in the south during the Southern and Northern dynasties among the educated elite. The most prominent practitioners of qingtan were the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. Pure conversation has often been compared to the Zen practice of koan.