LOVE

中華文化

現代漢語與中華文化裡，少數的詞匯被用作描繪愛的慨念︰

• 「愛」這個字可用作動詞如我愛你或名詞，如「愛情」。

• 「戀」這個字並不會作單詞用，通常會與其他字組合，如「談戀愛」、「戀人」或「同性戀」。

• 「情」這個字通常解作感覺或情緒，通常指代為愛，而其可與其他字組合為相愛的意思，如「愛情」、「情人」。

在儒家學說裡，戀是純愛之意。戀為所有人追求的東西，為道德生活的反映，儒家多用「仁」來表達對人之愛，是一種摒棄私慾的愛。子女對父母的愛為「孝」，父母對子女的愛為「慈」，兄弟姊妹之間的愛為「悌」。

而墨子則發展出與儒家的戀概念相對的愛的概念。愛在墨家學說裡為兼愛之意，即愛無等差，對眾生皆持對等的愛。浪費與攻伐對愛則不利。雖然墨子的想法亦有一定影響力，但儒家的戀仍是大部份中國人對愛的慨念。

感情指兩人之間的感覺。兩人會以建立良好感情來表達對對方的愛，如互相幫助。而且可以對萬物存有感情，不只限於人。

緣份是指兩人間命運的關連。俗語說︰有緣千里能相聚，無緣對面不相逢。

早恋是在当代中国常用的概念，指的是少年 、童年时发生的“爱情”或者对某异性人“感兴趣” 或“痴情”。早恋包括少年“男女朋友”以及儿童的早恋感觉（跟英文的「crush」这概念有一点关系）。这概念表示当代中国文化 、社会上的普通观点，就是未成年人由于学习的压力，不应该谈恋爱，否则对他们前途和出息可以有坏处。很重要一种原因是当代中国教育制度的极大竞争性。报纸和别的媒体也报导早恋这现象对学生的危险与家长的担心。

Chinese

• Ai (愛) is used as a verb (e.g. Wo ai ni, "I love you") or as a noun, especially in aiqing (愛情), "love" or "romance." In mainland China since 1949, airen (愛人, originally "lover," or more literally, "love person") is the dominant word for "spouse" (with separate terms for "wife" and "husband" originally being de-emphasized).
• Lian (戀) is not generally used alone, but instead as part of such terms as "being in love" (談戀愛, tan lian'ai — also containing ai), "lover" (戀人, lianren) or "homosexuality" (同性戀, tongxinglian).
• Qing (情), commonly meaning "feeling" or "emotion," often indicates "love" in several terms. It is contained in the word aiqing (愛情); qingren (情人) is a term for "lover". It is comparable to the English word "dear".

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 (愛) in reaction to Confucian lian. 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.

Gănqíng (感情), 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 (緣份) 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 (Simplified: 早恋, Traditional: 早戀, pinyin: zǎoliàn), "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.