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Audiobook edition · 2 h 52 minPaperback · 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
You will love this book if you enjoy wise, plain-spoken sayings, practical advice on temper and honesty, and sharp views on leadership. It also suits readers curious about Confucian thought and Chinese history.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Illness becomes a lesson in conduct
- Know your temperament and correct it
- A still heart supports good action
- Honesty begins with your hidden intention
- Warmth closes the distance between people
- Govern your conduct rather than reputation
- Learning becomes real through action
- Government must provide and judge fairly
- Put care into everyday habits
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Groaning Words in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Groaning Words
by Lü Kun · 1593
A frail, ailing official records his groans and turns them into advice on temper, sincerity and ruling well.
Challenging10–20 hours to read20 languages
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“Keep your temper, and everything goes well.”
In short
Why would a man collect his own groans? Lü Kun, a Chinese official of the Wanli reign in the Ming dynasty, was born frail and often ill.
Groaning Words at a glance
- Reading time
- About 11 h 30 min9 h 5 min fast, 13 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 163,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1593by Lü Kun
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Human nature mixes principle with temperament
Lü Kun begins with a claim that cuts against a common view. Many scholars, following Mencius, say that human nature is simply good. Lü Kun says nature refers to both vital energy and principle. Principle is never bad, but vital energy is not always good.
He walks through the great authorities one by one. Confucius spoke of natures being near to one another, and near means not the same. Zisi said that cultivating the Way is called education, and Lü Kun asks why the Way would need cultivating if nature were wholly good. His picture is simple. Water has no sediment, but it turns cloudy when soil is added. Nature is one, but it becomes mixed when joined to temperament.
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Details
- First published
- 1593
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 50 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Lü, Kun. Groaning Words. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/groaning-words.
Lü, K. (2026). Groaning words. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/groaning-words (Original work published 1593)
Lü, Kun. Groaning Words. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/groaning-words.
@book{lu2026groaning,
author = {Lü, Kun},
title = {Groaning Words},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/groaning-words},
note = {First published 1593}
}
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What is Groaning Words about?
It is a collection of short sayings, stories and arguments by Lü Kun on self-cultivation, family, learning, human nature and government. The title comes from the groans of sickness, which he treats as a warning about the faults of character.
Who was Lü Kun?
Lü Kun was a Ming dynasty official and scholar who died in 1618. He served in public posts and wrote on moral character, practical government and the Confucian way. Groaning Words grew from notes he kept for thirty years.
What does the title Groaning Words mean?
Groaning is the sound of illness, so Groaning Words are words spoken in sickness. Lü Kun used them to record his own troubles and faults, and he offered them as a warning so that readers might avoid the same illnesses.
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.
“Keep your temper, and everything goes well.”
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