What Is Love?

Recently someone asked me what love is. This question is well worth exploring, yet I fear that if I speak too superficially, the clever will mock me as pedantic (yūkuò, 迂阔); if I speak too deeply, the honest will dismiss me as esoteric (xūxuán, 虚玄). Very well—today I shall trace the matter to its roots and speak a few honest words.

If you have some command of Western languages, you may perceive deeper layers in this word "love" (爱). Let me lay out three versions here: the Latin Vulgate, the King James Version, and the Chinese Union Version. Naturally, there have been countless scholarly disputes (bǐmò guānsī, 笔墨官司) among these editions; we shall set those aside and look only at the most conspicuous skeleton.

Why insist on the Bible? Simply because the "love" (爱) discussed in East Asia today is not something that naturally sprouted from our native soil—it resembles an exotic flower transplanted across oceans. Since this is so, why not examine its original form?

The Latin Vulgate is the canonical text established after Rome made Christianity its state religion; every word was inscribed by monks who spent decades in ascetic discipline, setting down each stroke on parchment only in moments of spiritual clarity, with a meticulousness as vital as blood itself. The King James Version is quite different—the printing presses clattered it out, to be distributed to common folk who could barely read but spoke the plain vernacular. As for the Chinese Union Version, it passed through yet more layers of mountains and rivers, weathering different storms.

Let us proceed in sequence. I am no specialist in Latin; what I offer is only my own understanding, not necessarily the definitive standard (guīniè, 圭臬).

Caritas patiens est, benigna est. Charity suffereth long, and is kind. "爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈。"

This "patience" (patiens) is not ordinary forbearance; it is endurance specifically directed toward pain. That is why those who are ill and suffering are called "patients" in Western languages. Love is this long "suffering" (suffereth), yet tempered with gentle kindness (benigna).

Caritas non aemulatur, charity envieth not; "爱是不嫉妒。"

non agit perperam, charity vaunteth not itself, "不自夸。"

non inflatur. is not puffed up. "不张狂。"

Inflatur originally means "to inflate, to puff up." Love is not that blown-up balloon, airy and fragile, collapsing at a single prick.

non est ambitiosa, doth not behave itself unseemly, "不做害羞的事。"

Here the traces of conceptual migration are most visible. The Latin ambitiosa originally means "ambitious"—love has no ambition. In the King James Version, this became "doth not behave itself unseemly." What constitutes "unseemly"? The authority of interpretation quietly shifted from the candlelight of the monastery to the desk of the king. One word turned, a thousand miles of deviation.

non quaerit quae sua sunt, seeketh not her own, "不求自己的益处。"

non irritatur, is not easily provoked, "不轻易发怒。"

Not susceptible to provocation.

non cogitat malum, thinketh no evil; "不计较人的恶。"

In truth—love does not think evil. It does not probe darkly into hidden motives; it does not measure others' hearts with malicious assumptions.

non gaudet super iniquitate, rejoiceth not in iniquity, "不喜欢不义。"

Witnessing others' wrongdoing, or taking pleasure in their misfortune—love regards these with sorrow.

congaudet autem veritati: but rejoiceth in the truth; "只喜欢真理。"

Even if truth is like a blade, cutting until blood flows freely, love still rejoices in beholding reality. For in its bones it holds the conviction: fact itself is ultimately good.

omnia suffert, beareth all things, "凡事包容。"

The Latin originally reads "endures all things." The Chinese translators apparently found the word "endure" (忍受) too bitter, and converted it to "包容" (bāoróng, containment). In truth, the original sense is closer to bearing hardship as one endures hunger and cold.

omnia credit, believeth all things, "凡事相信。"

This is another crucial juncture. Credit is not "believe"—it is "extend credit." Just as a bank issues you a credit card, first assuming you are trustworthy, and only recalculating upon your default. Love operates thus: whatever a person says, it first regards with sincerity, altering its stance only when incontrovertible evidence demands it.

omnia sperat, hopeth all things, "凡事盼望。"

Never say "I have lost all hope in you." For we, such limited beings, have no standing to declare that the future has exhausted all its paths.

omnia sustinet. endureth all things. "凡事忍耐。"

Sustinet means "to sustain, to persist." The term "sustainability" commonly invoked today derives from this root. Love endures stubbornly, until the storm has passed.

Caritas numquam excidit Charity never faileth "爱是永不止息。"

The Latin states plainly: love never fails. Since it never fails, it naturally never ceases.

You can see, then, that at this source—whether the Latin Caritas or the English Charity—the word "Love" was nowhere employed. Love is an Old Anglo-Saxon term, originally denoting "pleasure" and "praise"—a gratifying sentiment. Through England's maritime dominion, this "Love" gradually supplanted the position of Caritas, becoming the authorized representative of "爱."

Yet the irony is exquisite: that Love, so bent on "bringing people pleasure," often instead brings them anguish; whereas this Caritas, willingly suffering and seeking no pleasure for itself, truly brings peace and joy.

So mark this well:

Love is not "Love." Love is Caritas—charity (慈善).

An action, if it is not charity, does not qualify as love.

Love has nothing to do with intimate whispers by the temple of the ear (ěrbìn sīmó, 耳鬓厮磨), nothing to do with tender, lingering longing (chánmián fěicè, 缠绵悱恻), and certainly nothing to do with yearning day and night, tossing and turning in sleep (wùmèi sīfú, zhǎnzhuǎn fǎncè, 寤寐思服, 辗转反侧)—those are merely the common infatuations of the human world.

Caritas / charity (慈善) makes no distinction between men and women, asks nothing of ethnicity, disregards wealth and rank, and is unconcerned with ideology (zhǔyì, 主义).

It does not boast, does not inflate, has no ambition, does not think evil, willingly suffers, believes in truth, extends credit in all things, and never despairs.

It never admits defeat.

This may be the one fragment of divinity that humanity wields to pierce through all bestial nature, dissolve all malice, and finally lift its head slightly to face the vast heavens.

It is the closest thing to the divine that a human being can accomplish.

January 10, 2026 (Written in imitation of Lu Xun's literary style)

Copyright Notice: This is a preview translation — Chinese original is the authoritative version. Copyright belongs to Guangzhou Phaenarete AI Technology Co., Ltd. Unauthorized reproduction, citation, or distribution is prohibited.