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Ai is used as a verb (e.g. Wo ai ni, "I love you") or as a noun, especially in aiqing, "love" or "romance." In mainland China since 1949, airen (originally "lover," or more lterally, "love person") is the dominant word for "spouse" (with separate terms for "wife" and "husband" originally being de-emphasized).
Lian is not generally used alone, but instead as part of such terms as "being in love" (tan lian'ai—also containing "ai"), "lover" (lianren) or "homosexuality" (tongxinglian).
Qing, commonly meaning "feeling" or "emotion," often indicates "love" in several terms. It is contained in the word aiqing; qingren is a term for "lover". It is comparable to the English word "dear". |
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Ai, in Mohism, is universal love towards all beings, not just towards friends or family, without regard to reciprocation. Extravagance and offensive war are inimical to ai. Although Mozi's thought was influential, the Confucian lian is how most Chinese conceive of love.
In Confucianism, lian is a virtuous benevolent love. Lian should be pursued by all human beings, and reflects a moral life. The Chinese philosopher Mozi developed the concept of ai in reaction to Confucian lian.
Gănqíng, the feeling of a relationship. A person will express love by building good gănqíng, accomplished through helping or working for another. Emotional attachment toward another person or anything.
Yuanfen is a connection of bound destinies. A meaningful relationship is often conceived of as dependent strong yuanfen. It is very similar to serendipity. A similar conceptualization in English is, "They were made for each other," "fate", or "destiny".
Zaolian, "puppy love" or literally "early love", is a contemporary term in frequent use for romantic feelings or attachments among children or adolescents. Zaolian describes both relationships among a teenaged boyfriend and girlfriend, as well as the "crushes" of early adolescence or childhood. The concept essentially indicates a prevalent belief in contemporary Chinese culture that due to the demands of their studies (especially true in the highly competitive educational system of China), youth should not form romantic attachments lest they jeopardize their chances for success in the future. Reports have appeared in Chinese newspapers and other media detailing the prevalence of the phenomenon and its perceived dangers to students and the fears of parents.
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