On April 2, 2012, the United Nations released the first World Happiness Report on the occasion of its first General Assembly on \u201cHappiness and Wellbeing: Defining a New Economic Paradigm.\u201d It ranked China the 112th happiest country out of 156. As an article in Caixun.com summarized the report’s message, \u201cIn other words, excluding African countries that are suffering from conflict, China is among the most unhappy countries in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month later, Youku produced a video on its finance channel, promoting the \u201csuccessful\u201d approach to obtaining happiness. The video opens with comedic actor Fan Wei playing the part of a poor and small-minded man whose definition of happiness centers around what he lacks: \u201cIf I\u2019m hungry and someone else has a meat bun, he\u2019s happier than I am. If I\u2019m cold and someone is wearing a cotton-padded jacket, he is happier than I am. If I want to go to the restroom and the only toilet is occupied, the person occupying it is happier than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there, the video segues to a series of interviews on the \u201cdefinition of happiness\u201d with famous individuals and successful business leaders, including real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi, NBA superstar Yao Ming, blockbuster film director Lu Chuan, entertainment news anchor Liang Dong, and Yu Dan, a popular TV lecturer on Confucianism. Many of these celebrities tell viewers they believe the secret of happiness has nothing to do with the accumulation of wealth or the realization of one\u2019s career ambitions.<\/p>\n
The video instantly became a target for Chinese netizens frustrated with growing social and economic inequality in China. Expressing their views through sarcastic commentary, some netizens openly derided the interviewees as out of touch with reality:<\/p>\n
\u6700\u7231\u56f4\u89c2: There is a small group of people within society that doesn\u2019t contribute any labor and possess control over the majority of society\u2019s wealth. These individuals think of all kinds of ways to comfort the poor and even try to convince you that those with money are unhappy. Haha, ridiculous. I\u2019d rather have money than have happiness.<\/p>\n
\u604b\u4e0a\u4e86\u5f71\u5b50: Allowing the 1% to tell the 99% what happiness means is rather ridiculous.<\/p>\n
\u91ce\u751f\u5965\u7279\u66fc: This video interviewed those with fame or money. The words from their mouths are hypocritical and full of nonsense.<\/p>\n
Property developer Pan Shiyi claims that money can\u2019t buy happiness, saying that, \u201cActually, the greatest happiness comes in being able to realize your value to society.\u201d This message irked many netizens who are confronted with an increasing gap between housing price and affordability.<\/p>\n
Weibo user \u96f6\u4e0b\u6355\u6349 commented: \u201cPan Shiyi nauseates me. What is this so-called \u2018value to society’? I don\u2019t understand how you real-estate developers can raise the price of housing so high and still dare talk about \u2018social value.\u2019 You have everything and yet you can say these words without understanding how privileged you are. You have taken away our right to eat, drink and travel. To now tell us that acquiring this right will not bring happiness and that real happiness is to understand our \u2018value to society\u2019 … is really f-ing despicable.”<\/p>\n
TV Confucianism lecturer Yu Dan tries to convince people that one should not try to attain happiness beyond one\u2019s reach by saying: \u201cI believe that peach blossoms can bring happiness, but the rapeseed flower is far more commonly seen and available.\u201d She encourages people to recognize what Japanese writer Haruki Murakami calls \u201ca little happiness in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weibo user aft0808 could not disagree more: \u201cThe term \u2018a little happiness in hand\u2019 is laughable. When you eat \u2018gutter\u2019 oil [recycled cooking oil] every month, struggle to pay the mortgage every month, take public transportation every day, get up earlier than roosters and go to bed later than hookers, do the most work and get the least pay, if every day these kind of experiences are all you can reach, what kind of \u2018little happiness\u2019 are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Many viewers were also unhappy with Yao Ming\u2019s comment, \u201cIf you don\u2019t control your desires, they will turn into greed. Uncontrolled greed will only result in the perpetration of more sins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weibo user \u6c38\u8fdc\u7684\u8def\u98de responded: \u201cBrother Yao, you received such a high salary playing in the NBA, later you opened several restaurants, and you made many endorsement deals worth tens of millions. Compared to you, I am too embarrassed to call myself greedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Director Lu Chuan received the most user support. Discussing the difficulties of his employees\u2019 trying to find affordable housing in Beijing, Lu complained that housing prices in Beijing have reached levels on par with Hong Kong, where per capita GDP is four times higher. His concerns resonated with Weibo users who are trying to make ends meet:<\/p>\n
shinezai: Happiness is being able to eat non-toxic food and living in an affordable house … Why have all of these basic necessities become the happiness we can only dream about?<\/p>\n
zeropa: How can we talk about happiness when we can\u2019t even afford basic necessities? Even food safety is a problem. For us common people, who dare to say they are happy? Ignorance is the only happiness that we know. Once you are aware of the poisons within our food and products … sigh … forget about being happy.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, some netizens did provide their own definitions of happiness:<\/p>\n
\u4f92\u975c\u4e36: I have a sweet wife, loving parents and grandmother. They all take care of me and I look after them too. I feel very happy. Happiness can\u2019t be measured by money. It discriminates against no one. We all have the right to happiness; it all depends on whether you can grasp it.<\/p>\n