Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Chinese Discourses on Happiness

by Gerda Wielander , Derek Hird
Save 2% Save 2%
Current price ₹5,757.00
Original price ₹5,850.00
Original price ₹5,850.00
Original price ₹5,850.00
(-2%)
₹5,757.00
Current price ₹5,757.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 18-21 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9789888455720
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Hong Kong University Press
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 272
  • Original Price: GBP 45.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 431 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Anthropology / Cultural & Social

Happiness is on China's agenda. From Xi Jinping's "Chinese Dream" to online chat forums, the conspicuous references to happiness are hard to miss. This groundbreaking volume analyzes how different social groups make use of the concept and shows how closely official discourses on happiness are intertwined with popular sentiments. The Chinese Communist Party's attempts to define happiness and well-being around family-focused Han Chinese cultural traditions clearly strike a chord with the wider population. The collection highlights the links connecting the ideologies promoted by the government and the way they inform, and are in turn informed by, various deliberations and feelings circulating in the society.
Contributors analyze the government's "happiness maximization strategies," including public service advertising campaigns, Confucian and Daoist-inflected discourses adapted for the self-help market, and the promotion of positive psychology as well as "happy housewives." They also discuss forces countering the hegemonic discourse: different forms of happiness in the LGBTQ community, teachings of Tibetan Buddhism that subvert the material culture propagated by the government, and the cynical messages in online novels that expose the fictitious nature of propaganda. Collectively, the authors bring out contemporary Chinese voices engaging with different philosophies, practices, and idealistic imaginings on what it means to be happy.

Gerda Wielander is an associate professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Westminster. Her research focuses on the link between the spiritual and the political in contemporary China. Derek Hird is a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Westminster. His research interests include gender and masculinities and mental health needs of Chinese migrants in London.

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us