Aphrodite Pt. 13:

Simone’s Notes:

Two philosophical underpinnings of love exist in the Chinese tradition, one from Confucianism which emphasized actions and duty while the other came from Mohism which championed a universal love. A core concept to Confucianism is Ren, "benevolent love", which focuses on duty, action and attitude in a relationship rather than love itself. In Confucianism, one displays benevolent love by performing actions such as filial piety from children, kindness from parent, loyalty to the king and so forth. The concept of Ai was developed by the Chinese philosopher Mozi in the 4th century BC in reaction to Confucianism's benevolent love. Mozi tried to replace what he considered to be the long-entrenched Chinese over-attachment to family and clan structures with the concept of "universal love", jian'ai. In this, he argued directly against Confucians who believed that it was natural and correct for people to care about different people in different degrees. Mozi, by contrast, believed people in principle should care for all people equally. Mohism stressed that rather than adopting different attitudes towards different people, love should be unconditional and offered to everyone without regard to reciprocation, not just to friends, family and other Confucian relations. Later in Chinese Buddhism, the term Ai was adopted to refer to a passionate caring love and was considered a fundamental desire. In Buddhism, Ai was seen as capable of being either selfish or selfless, the latter being a key element towards enlightenment. In contemporary Chinese, Ai is often used as the equivalent of the Western concept of love. Ai is used as both a verb e.g. wo ai ni, or "I love you", and a noun such as aiqing, or "romantic love". However, due to the influence of Confucian Ren, the phrase ‘Wo ai ni’ carries with it a very specific sense of responsibility, commitment and loyalty. Instead of frequently saying "I love you" as in some Western societies, the Chinese are more likely to express feelings of affection in a more casual way. Consequently, "I like you", Wo xihuan ni, is a more common way of expressing affection in Chinese; it is more playful and less serious. This is also true in Japanese, suki da. The Chinese are also more likely to say "I love you" in English or other foreign languages than they would in their mother tongue.

Jakob lay awake in his excitement in bed. I’m going to go home tomorrow, he thought. He glanced up at the clock on his nightstand. Only 11:28 p.m. already? It doesn’t feel like it. The college student smiled to himself. Sleep still wouldn’t come to him so easily. Jakob let his mind wander off in an attempt to try again. Riza appeared in his mind. He couldn’t help but smile. I’m going to be a father by this summer. I wonder what she’s going right now.

Jakob reached over for his cell phone and picked it up. He pressed his thumb on the number six. He held the phone to his ear. It’s probably a bad idea to call her this late, but…

“Hello?” a woman’s tired voice asked on the other line.

Jakob rolled over onto his back. “Riza?”

“Jake?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

“I was about to fall asleep at last.”

“Is it the baby again?”

“Yeah.”

“I see.” He shifted a bit in bed.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” she asked.

Jakob smiled. “Nah. How are you doing?”

“Tired, but I’m fine otherwise.”

“How’s the baby?”

“It’s healthy and doing well. In fact, it’s going to be a…”

Jakob put his hand up in the air. “Aint! Don’t tell me.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to know the child’s sex is until it’s born.”

“You want to know the old-fashioned way?”

“Of course, are you okay with this?”

Riza chuckled on the other line. “Anything you like.”

Jakob frowned at the sound of her tone. “You wouldn’t tease me with the gender, would you?”

“Why would I do that?” she asked. Her husband shrugged, shaking his head.

“What time are you coming home?” Riza asked. Jakob did some quick math in his head.

“Oh, I think about late if not close to midnight,” he answered. “I probably woke get to see you and the baby until the next morning.” An idea crossed his mind no sooner had he said that. “Hey, do you want to have breakfast together when I get there?” he asked. “My treat.”

“I think I can manage before I have to go to work,” Riza answered.

“I’ll let you pick the place,” he said.

“Being that generous, huh?” she asked.

“Hey, what can I say? I love you that much.”

“You are so sweet, you know that?”

“Aw, you’re making me blush!” Jakob rolled over on his stomach. He happened to look over at his clock and see the time. “Wow, 12:10 already?”

“What?” Riza asked on the other line.

“I just realized that it’s 12:10, but it doesn’t feel like it,” her young husband repeated. “Strange…”

“Do you want to hang now?” she asked. Jakob shook his head.

“Nah, do you?” he asked.

“Only if you want to,” his wife replied. The young husband thought about the situation for a second.

“We could just sit on the line and not talk,” he offered.

“What if we fall asleep on the line?” she asked.

“It’s fine with me,” Jakob said.

“Say absolutely nothing, huh?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“Alright them.”

“I love you, Riza.”

“I love you too, Jakob.”

The rest of the call carried on until about six in the morning.

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