Well-being and Morality in Chinese Culture

Well-being is about the extent to which a person lives a good life. To understand well-being, different theories have been developed and abundant research has been conducted to examine what a "good life" is now how to live it. In this paper, the literature relevant to the understanding of well-being in Chinese culture will be reviewed. Specifically, the importance of social relations in Chinese well-being will be highlighted. Building on this emphasis on interpersonal relationships, the central role of harmony in understanding Chinese well-being will also be examined with reference to the individual-centered conceptualization of well-being in the West. The implications of this relational approach of well-being to our understanding of morality in contemporary Chinese culture will be discussed.