Self-control

Post 63 Be the master of your heart

The Chinese character for ‘anger’ is written as 怒. It is composed of 奴 which means ‘slave’ and 心 meaning ‘heart’. When one gets angry, one becomes the slave of one’s heart. Self-control is needed for the anger in one’s heart to be subdued.

When one has love, one does not get angry. The traditional Chinese character for love is written as 愛. There is a heart (心) in the centre; above the heart are family members under the same roof; and below it friends (友). One loves them with one’s heart.

However, the traditional version of love (愛) has now been simplified to be written as 爱, with the heart (心）missing. There have now been calls by Chinese scholars to appeal to the Chinese government for the traditional version to be used again. They say, “How can one love without the heart?”

The word heart (心) is in the two Chinese characters: anger (怒) and love (愛). The former brings enmity while the latter, friendship.

28 September 2010