Control your mouth

Author: Qin Lin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Is your mouth itchy today? — This is a heavy question posed to the era of "talking." While everyone strives to dominate the "verbal spotlight," what is increasingly distant from us? If you don’t want to be a idle chatterbox, you should know that endless gossip is a waste of both your and others’ time. If you spend time maintaining a bad habit, then when it becomes second nature, its cost is the death of countless wisdom cells. "More talk is of no use," and even more useless is deliberately pursuing the idea of "saying something extraordinary until death!" "Talking" can indeed solve some problems under certain conditions, but if the entire society could be resolved just by "talking," then I’d say this world would have long been free of problems. If people indulge in their impulsive, "itchy" mouths, it can lead to bottlenecks in communication and interaction. So why don’t we take better care of our mouths, which tend to spill trouble without warning? If you speak without thinking, speaking whatever comes to mind, it can lead to misfortune on a grand scale—misleading the nation and its people—or on a smaller scale—misguiding individuals and causing harm. Once the facts are set in stone, trying to make amends will likely be too late! Maybe you think that "speakers are fearless, so there’s no one to fear in the world"; maybe you think that being straightforward and quick to speak shows courage; maybe you think that not being able to hold back words is no big deal. But when the time comes, you’ll have to pay for your "careless" words! Don’t mistake the popular saying "A lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth" for wisdom, because this so-called proverb is also a lie! This is a collection of essays that goes "against the grain." Through a sharp critique of the long-standing phenomenon in China where people are "obsessed with words but lazy in action," the author points out that the root cause of the nation’s inefficiency is the "confusion between spirit and willpower." While Chinese people "daily advocate for eloquence and talking," it is precisely this focus on "talking" that crowds out the energy we should spend on action. Thus, it reveals the true crisis facing China is an "top-down" "excellent in talk but lacking in execution." This serves as a wake-up call to the Chinese people to "manage their mouths" and free up time wasted on empty talk, big talk, nonsense, lies, and slogans to focus on real work. From the title alone, it is a creative idea that can shake the hearts of readers. The author puts forward his clear views in the form of a manifesto, posing a highly challenging and impactful critique to the "nationwide" Chinese tendency to "talk more than they do." Yet, it also contains positive and rational elements, making it a soul-stirring read for every Chinese person living in today’s society. China has long had the saying "Misfortune comes from the mouth," but in an era of individual expression, this ancient warning has been forgotten. After reading "Manage Your Mouth," you might understand the ancient sages’ good intentions. Although "Manage Your Mouth" may still bear the traces of a book on eloquence, its essay and "streamlined" writing style gives it a fresh feel. When you’re tired of reading tedious textbooks on eloquence, this book is worth flipping through.