2 h 52 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How can you govern well if anger, desire, and worry govern you?
In Groaning Words, Lü Kun brings the concerns of a Ming dynasty official to questions of everyday conduct. His brief notes move from the mind and human nature to judging people and governing well. He asks what moral learning is worth if it never changes how a person speaks, acts, or treats others.
The Chinese title, Shenyin Yu, points to the sounds a person makes in pain. These are candid reflections from a thinker troubled by the faults of his age, not polished speeches. From small daily habits to public decisions, Lü Kun explores how character shapes the lives of others—and why empty talk is never enough.
What you’ll discover
- A calm starting point Explore Lü Kun’s view that clear judgment begins with a mind unclouded by anger or worry.
- Character in small moments Find moral questions in ordinary speech, manners, and the treatment of family, servants, and equals.
- Learning that changes conduct Meet a scholar who challenges fine phrases and asks what knowledge actually changes.
- Patience before action Consider who a decision affects, what might go wrong, and why care matters.
- The character behind government Examine why Lü Kun places the common good in the hands of morally responsible leaders.
Who will love it
For readers who love short, sharp reflections, Confucian thought or Chinese history, and leaders who seek practical advice on character and governing well.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Begin with a calm and settled mind
- Cultivate yourself through daily small habits
- Know the principle behind the practice
- Handle affairs with care and patience
- Judge people and govern for the common good
- Why this book has lasted
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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Stöhnende Worte
by Lü Kun · 1593
Lü Kun turns a steady gaze on daily habits and public duties, showing how character shapes the common good.
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In short
Groaning Words is a book of short notes on how to live and how to rule, written by Lü Kun, a Ming dynasty official and thinker who died in 1618. Lü spent his life in public service, and he wrote the book over many years as a private record of what he saw and thought.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Begin with a calm and settled mind
Lü Kun starts from the claim that every good act grows out of the state of the mind. A person who is stirred up by anger, desire or worry cannot see clearly. So the first task is to steady the heart before trying to steady anything else. This is a common view in the Confucian tradition, but Lü gives it a practical edge.
He is not asking for a mind that feels nothing. He notes that strong feelings come to everyone, and that the sage is not someone without feeling but someone who is not carried off by it. The skill lies in noticing a feeling as it rises and giving it no more room than the matter deserves. Many of his short entries describe how a hasty word or a flash of temper ruins a good plan.
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What is Groaning Words about?
It is a collection of short entries by Lü Kun on self-cultivation, moral character, dealing with affairs, judging people and governing well. It draws on Confucian thought and the author's own experience as an official.
Who was Lü Kun?
Lü Kun was a Ming dynasty scholar and official who died in 1618. He served in government, valued practical results over fine theory, and is remembered chiefly for Groaning Words.
What does the title Groaning Words mean?
The Chinese title, Shenyin Yu, refers to the groans of someone in pain. It suggests honest words spoken by a person troubled by the faults of his time, not polished speech.
The author
Lü Kun
1536–1618 · Chinese Ming dynasty philosopher
Lü Kun (1536–1618) was a Chinese writer and government official during the Ming dynasty. He came from Ningling, in Henan province. He wrote Groaning Words, known in Chinese as Shenyin yu, in the late sixteenth century. He lived and worked in China during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
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