Explore the character for romantic love, parental devotion, benevolence, and much more
It’s Valentine’s Day once again, a day for lovers, and for non-lovers to wish never existed. In Chinese, the holiday translates to 情人节 (Qíngrén Jié), and not as you might guess, 爱人节 (Àirén Jié), since 爱人 is exclusively used to refer to spouses. However, the character 爱 encompasses a world far larger than mere adoration and romance.
Love is often cautious, which might explain why the character once meant “to hide” or “conceal.” In the Classic of Poetry (《诗经》), China’s earliest collection of poetry dating back to the 11th century BCE, one verse depicts a vivid scene of a young man confounded by the coy elusiveness of his date: “She hides and I pace back and forth, scratching my head in distress (爱而不见，搔首踟蹰 Ài ér bú xiàn, sāoshǒu chíchú).”
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爱: The Character Defining Love in Its Many Forms is a story from our issue, “Youthful Nostalgia.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
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