We use this every day as a stand-in for love and the human heart, but it doesn't really look like the real thing.

我们每天都用这个符号代表爱以及人类的心脏，但这符号和真正心脏的模样其实有点差距。

Zachary Crockett at Priceonomics has looked into the history of this.

Priceonomics 的 Zachary Crockett 研究了爱心图案形成的历史。

He says that there are relics¹ resembling the heart shape from 3,000 BC, but these shapes stood for ivy² or fig³ leaves, not the heart.

他表示，公元前三千年留下的遗迹中有类似心型的图案，但这些图案是代表长春藤或无花果叶片，而非心脏。

It wasn't until several centuries later that the heart became a symbol representing "love."

直到几世纪之后，心脏的形状才成为代表“爱”的象征。

But the problem was they didn't really know what the heart looked like, partially⁴ because the Catholic Church prohibited autopsies⁵.

但问题是，他们不太清楚心脏到底长什么样子，一部分可能是因为天主教会禁止尸体解剖。

So when artists tried to draw the heart as a symbol of love, like in this French manuscript from 1250, it looked like this.

所以，艺术家试着要画心脏图案来代表爱的时候，就像这个公元 1250 年的法国手稿，画起来就像这样。

By the time detailed⁶ anatomical drawings appeared, like those of Leonardo da Vinci in the early 16th century, the simplified symbol had already taken root.

到了详细解剖图出现的时代，如十六世纪初达文西的作品，简化符号的表现方式早已固定了。

It became a popular image in Catholic symbolism as well as secular⁷ things like decks of cards.

爱心成为神圣天主教符号与世俗卡牌的普及象征图案。

Eventually, New York City's 1977 campaign turned the heart symbol into a verb...

终于，纽约市 1977 年的活动将爱心符号转成一个动词...

I love New York. ...replacing the word "love."

我爱纽约。 ...代替“爱”这个字。

Now it's used in everything romantic: Valentine's Day cards, emojis, chocolate.

现在爱心符号用在所有浪漫的东西上：情人节卡片、图释、巧克力。

But you can also find it in video games, on Twitter, and in ads for heart-healthy food.

但你也可以在电动游戏、推特和心脏健康食品的广告上看到爱心。

It might be a poor likeness⁸ for the human heart, but that's what makes it such an enduring and versatile⁹ symbol.

虽然这个符号和人类的心脏一点也不像，但这也是为什么这个符号可以被如此广泛运用，且历久不衰。

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