幸福在哪裏? What does happiness even mean?大綱

Recently, CCTV journalists have approached pedestrians with their cameras, held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question: “Are you happy?”

近日，中央電視臺記者將鏡頭和麥克風對準了路上的行人，採訪的問題很簡單：“你幸福嗎？”

The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who recently won a Nobel Prize, responded by saying: “I don’t know”.

這個問題令許多被訪者措手不及。甚至就連剛剛獲得諾貝爾獎的莫言也迴應說：“我不知道。”

While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions, we ask: What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure it?

這一問題已經成爲熱門語句並引發網絡熱議。我們不禁要問：“到底什麼是幸福？你又怎樣衡量幸福呢?”

In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people’s unalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Last year, 235 years on, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao told the nation: “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At last year’s National People’s Congress, officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12th five-year plan.

在1776年美國發布的《獨立宣言》中，托馬斯•傑弗遜寫下，人們擁有不可剝奪的“生存權、自由權以及追求幸福的權利”。235年過去了，去年，國家總理溫家寶在發表全國講話時稱：“我們做的每件事都是爲了讓人民過得更幸福。”在去年舉行的全國人民代表大會上，各級官員一致同意將增加國民幸福感定爲我國“十二五”規劃的首要目標。

US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes happiness as “a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions”, according to US broadcasting network PBS. This may sound straightforward enough, but it still doesn’t explain what determines people’s happiness.

據美國PBS電視臺報道，《快樂-解鎖心靈財富的祕密》一書的作者、美國心理學家埃德•迪納將幸福描述爲“對生活滿足且正面情緒佔上風”。儘管這聽上去足夠直白，但還是沒有解釋出是什麼來決定人們的幸福感。

Many argue that happiness is elusive and that there is no single source. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough cash to buy a new bicycle; for others, it’s about socializing or finding the perfect spouse.

很多人認爲，幸福難以捉摸，幸福源自許多方面。對於不同的人來說，幸福的意義也不同。對一些人而言，幸福很簡單，有足夠的錢來買輛新自行車就很幸福；對其他人而言，幸福則關乎於社交活動或是找尋最佳配偶。

Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types: daily experiences of hedonic well-being; and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole. The former refers to the quality of living, whereas the latter is about overall happiness, including life goals and achievements. Happiness can cross both dimensions.

研究人員認爲，幸福可以分成兩類：一是日常的享樂主義幸福，二是可評估的幸福，即人們整體思考生活的方式。前者強調生活質量，而後者則注重整體幸福感，包括人生目標和成就。幸福則可以令二者產生交叉。

Li Jun, a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic, says: “Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It’s a simple yet profound topic.”

來自北京一家診所的心理精神理療師李俊（音譯）表示：“幸福的定義既可以是人類最基本的需求得到滿足，也可以是精神追求的最高境界。這是一個雖簡單，卻意義深遠的話題。”

Chen Shangyuan, 21, a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said his idea of happiness always evolves. “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,” he said. “It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate.”

21歲的陳尚遠（音譯）現就讀於南京航空航天大學，他表示自己對於幸福的理解總是不斷進化。他說：“眼下幸福與與我每日的學習效率有關。畢業後，也許會同職業安全感以及休閒時間有關。”

Then there is the question of measuring happiness. Does it depend on how many friends we have, or whether we own the latest smartphone? Is it even quantifiable?

接下來的問題是：如何衡量幸福？取決於我們身邊朋友的多少？是否擁有最新款的智能手機？而幸福真的可以量化嗎？

Economists are trying to measure happiness in people’s lives. Since 1972, Bhutan’s GDP measurement has been replaced by a Gross National Happiness index. It is calculated according to the peoples’ sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, their satisfaction with economic development, and their sense of national belonging.

經濟學家們一直試圖衡量人們生活的幸福感。從1972年開始，不丹放棄國內生產總值的測算，取而代之的是“國民幸福指數”。這一數值根據人們對政府以及經濟發展的滿意度、與環境的關係、以及國民歸屬感。

In 2009, US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”. But is well-being more easily measured?

2009年，美國經濟學家約瑟夫•斯蒂格里茲提議“將測量的重點從經濟生產轉移到人均幸福感上來。”但是，幸福真會變得更易於測量嗎？