Chinese language study HK – What is the definition of happiness?

 

Mandarin Lesson

What is the definition of happiness?

What is the definition of happiness? Is it material wealth filled with fancy cars, a dream house, extravagant furs and jewelry? Or is happiness simply having a roof over your head? Food in the fridge? Having a child? A pet? A swimming pool? A designer Gucci bag? Parents? Grandchildren? Love? Money? The perfect job? Winning the Lottery? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, happiness is derived from the Middle English word hap — meaning Luck. But does happiness really have anything to do with luck? Based on this description, one could assume that if you avoided a fatal traffic accident but got fired by coming late to work, you would be filled with happiness? Is it luck or what you make of it? Maybe, happiness is exactly defined by its indirect alias, happiness. Perhaps, happiness is in fact defined by the fortune that we permit to happen.

“幸福”是什麼?幸福是擁有豪華的汽車、夢想的居室、名貴的裘皮和珠寶等物質上的富足嘛?或者,幸福其實很簡單——有遮風避雨的住所,冰箱裡有食物,有孩子、寵物、游泳池、Gucci的包,有父母、子孫、有愛情、金錢和理想的工作,彩票中獎了呢?在《美國傳統字典》中,幸福是從中古英語“Hap”一詞演變而來,“Hap”意為“好運”。幸福真的與“好運”有關聯嗎?基於此,想想看,如果你在一場必死無疑的交通事故中倖免於難,卻因此遲到,導致被老闆炒魷魚。對此,我們應該感到“幸福”嗎?這是好運嗎?還是要看個人如何看待這個問題呢?或許確切地說,幸福的定義應當直接從它的詞源來看——事實上,幸福或許就是命中註定要發生的事情。

“Xìngfú” shì shénme? Xìngfú shì yǒngyǒu háohuá de qìchē, mèngxiǎng de jūshì, míngguì de qiúpí hé zhūbǎo děng wùzhí shàng de fùzú ma? Huòzhě, xìngfú qíshí hěn jiǎndān——yǒu zhē fēng bì yǔ de zhùsuǒ, bīngxiāng li yǒu shíwù, yǒu háizi, chǒngwù, yóuyǒngchí,Gucci de bāo, yǒu fùmǔ, zǐsūn, yǒu àiqíng, jīnqián hé lǐxiǎng de gōngzuò, cǎipiào zhòngjiǎngle ne ? Zài “měiguó chuántǒng zìdiǎn” zhōng, xìngfú shì cóng zhōnggǔ yīngyǔ “Hap” yī cí yǎnbiàn ér lái,“Hap” yì wèi “hǎo yùn”. Xìngfú zhēn de yǔ “hǎo yùn” yǒu guānlián ma? Jīyú cǐ, xiǎng xiǎng kàn, rúguǒ nǐ zài yī chǎng bìsǐ wúyí de jiāotōng shìgù zhōng xìngmiǎn yú nán, què yīncǐ chídào, dǎozhì bèi lǎobǎn chǎoyóuyú. Duì cǐ, wǒmen yīnggāi gǎndào “xìngfú” ma? Zhè shì hǎo yùn ma? Háishì yào kàn gèrén rúhé kàndài zhège wèntí ne? Huòxǔ quèqiè de shuō, xìngfú de dìngyì yīngdāng zhíjiē cóng tā de cí yuán lái kàn——shìshí shàng, xìngfú huòxǔ jiùshì mìngzhòng zhùdìng yào fāshēng de shìqíng.