You may have noticed the Chinese press giving recent attention to literature that addresses happiness.
Most, if not all, Chinese are financially better off thanks to 28 years of reform and opening up. But are we any happier?
Various surveys and rankings attempt to answer this question. The municipal government of Beijing even unveiled a plan last month to incorporate residents' levels of satisfaction as an important indicator of societal harmony.
The limelight on subjective well-being adds a precious human touch to our pursuit of development.
Though sociologists have presented varying percentages based on different criteria, their answers tend to find we are generally happier, and the number of optimists rises each year.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' 2006 Blue Book on social progress says 70 per cent of rural and urban respondents surveyed in 2005 reported a feeling of happiness and were optimistic about their futures.
But each survey reveals a worrisome fact that a sizable portion, 10 per cent at the lowest, of respondents were not content with their lives or not hopeful about the future.
We cannot be content with the fact that at least 130 million of our countrymen are not happy.
When discussing reasons for discontent, the law of diminishing utility is relevant. Following this logic, insatiable desires are to blame.
It makes sense: When you have everything you need for a decent life, and more of the things you want, you may want more.
But for the majority of Chinese citizens, it is not about diminishing utility.
Though the official number of those in abject poverty is small, many more are yet to rise above the difficult fight for subsistence.
Although a sense of happiness remains a luxury for many of our compatriots because of poverty, we agree financial well-being is not the sole determinant of happiness.
