The traditional form 愛 has four layers: a hand reaching down (爫), a cover (冖), a heart (心), and slow walking feet (夊). Love as a tender hand covering the heart while walking slowly — unhurried, careful, protective. When China simplified characters in 1956, they removed the 心 from the middle to create 爱. The internet writes the joke itself: 简体字把爱的心去掉了 — 'simplified Chinese removed the heart from love.'