What defines "happiness, "and how can we attain it? The ways in which people in China ask and answer this universal question tell a lot about the tensions and challenges they face during periods of remarkable political and economic change. Based on a five-year original study conducted by a select team of China experts, The Chinese Pursuit of Happiness begins by asking if Chinese citizens' assessment of their life is primarily a judgment of their social relationships. The book shows how different dimensions of happiness are manifest in the moral and ethical understandings that embed individuals in specific communities. Vividly describing the moral dilemmas experienced in contemporary Chinese society, the rituals of happiness performed in modern weddings, the practices of conviviality carried out in shared meals, the professional tensions confronted by social workers, and the hopes and frustrations shared by political reformers, the contributors to this important study illuminate the causes of anxiety and reasons for hope in China today.

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Yes, you can access The Chinese Pursuit of Happiness by Becky Yang Hsu, Richard Madsen, Becky Yang Hsu, Richard Madsen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Cultural & Social Anthropology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

University of California Press

Year

2019

ISBN

9780520973671

Edition

Topic

Social Sciences

Subtopic

Cultural & Social Anthropology

Index

Social Sciences

Cover
Dedication
THE CHINESE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Title
Copyright
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Changing Notion of Happiness: A History of Xingfu
2. Having It All: Filial Piety, Moral Weighting, and Anxiety among Young Adults
3. Performing Happiness for Self and Others: Weddings in Shanghai
4. Happy and Unhappy Meals: Culinary Expressions of the Good Life in Shanghai
5. Making the People or the Government Happy? Dilemmas of Social Workers in a Morally Pluralistic Society
6. Deriving Happiness from Making Society Better: Chinese Activists as Warring Gods
Epilogue
References
Contributors
Index