Wednesday 31 July 2013

Maternal Love 母爱?



This is not an uncommon sight in Hongkong. I’ve witnessed parents of all ages and descriptions performing assisted feeding on their beloved kids, so the game may go on. It inspired me to write the article New Age Narcotics (http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2012/10/new-age-narcotics.html). Last week, I finally couldn’t resist capturing it with my phone. 

Love is a universally positive word in the modern world, though the boundaries between love, care, obsession, indulgence, etc. are not clear. I suppose they are, and should be, a personal definition. However, these boundaries seem to be shifting further and further away from my old-fashioned sense, becoming increasingly incomprehensible. At what point does “love” become toxic, I wonder.

The characters in Man’s Last Song (http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2013/03/mans-last-song-event-diary.html) used up an entire section to dissect love, trying to discover its illusive nature: While so-called “love” from an enlightened person can be liberating and enriching, blind passion from a fool is annoying at best, murderous at worst. Fervid love chokes us when happening, and pains us with regrets when dead. . . Of course not everyone agrees.

只要够“八卦”,留意周围,这感人场面在香港不难看见。我见过不少衣着入时,看上去颇有教养的年轻父母,不忍亲生骨肉为了两餐把电子游戏中断,也在酒楼餐厅悉心喂饲“中童级”小朋友。这也是我较早的一篇博文“摩登鸦片” (http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2012/10/blog-post.html) 的灵感来源。

在现代社会,“爱心”被视为文明素质,不容置疑。可惜爱与痴迷,狂热,娇宠,放纵等的界线,除了是个人选择之外,也很难划清。对我这个食古不化的人来说,“爱”在物质过盛,时间缺乏的社会中,变得越来越难理解。中国人都听过物极必反。究竟爱到什么程度才会“作反”呢?可能很值得思考。在 Man’s Last Song (http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2013/03/mans-last-song-event-diary.html) 的故事中,几个“文明过后原始人” 把酒论爱,希望找出它的玄妙真谛。就是一直还没有空完成中文“笙歌”的最后版本!

Guo Du  31.07.2013

3 comments:

Anonymous said...


Thought provoking shot, indeed. Careless love, maybe?

Thought provoking comment, too.
Meaningless love, maybe?

I **LOVE** both, photo and comment. And, suddently, feel I should question love more... certainly will. Thank you, Dr.GuoDu

-- Your French fan

Roast duck said...

This is not love. Tough love is love.

James Tam 谭炳昌 (过渡) said...

"Lovely" AMZ. Merci! :-)

I don't have an answer Roast Duck!