The Kingdom of Happiness

The Kingdom of Happiness. Written by Susan Lennox. Focus Question. Is it important to measure happiness?

幸福王国。 苏珊·伦诺克斯 著。 思考问题。 衡量幸福很重要吗？

Introduction What is happiness? Happiness can mean many different things to different people. The people of Bhutan think of happiness as being content. The government of Bhutan wants its citizens to be happy. It thinks happiness is more important than money. That is why the government of Bhutan asks people questions every few years to see how happy they are. This information is used to improve life for everyone in the Kingdom of Happiness.

引言：幸福是什么？ 对不同的人来说，幸福有很多不同的含义。 不丹人认为幸福就是知足。 不丹政府希望自己的国民都能幸福。 他们认为幸福比金钱更重要。 所以不丹政府每隔几年就会询问民众，了解他们的幸福程度。 这些信息会用来改善幸福王国所有人的生活。

Growth and Happiness Bhutan's first happiness interviews took place in 2007. However, the idea of tracking happiness came about long before that. In 1972, a new king was crowned in Bhutan. King Wan Chu was just 16 years old. The young king loved his country. He wanted it to grow and be successful.

发展与幸福：不丹第一次幸福调研是在2007年。 不过，追踪幸福的想法早在那之前就诞生了。 1972年，不丹加冕了新国王。 旺楚国王当时只有16岁。 年轻的国王深爱自己的国家。 他希望国家发展壮大，走向繁盛。

King Wanchu knew that other countries measure success by money alone. They add up the cost of goods they make and sell. The king did not believe that was right for Bhutan. Most of its citizens were Buddhists. They believe that happiness is an important step to leading a good life. Money was only a small part of that. King Wanchu wanted his country to be a happy place. Only then would it succeed. He came up with a plan for Bhutan called Gross National Happiness, G -N -H. It had four key ideas about happiness that would help Bhutan's growth.

旺楚国王知道，其他国家只用金钱衡量成功。 他们统计生产和售卖商品的总价值来计算。 国王不认为这种方式适合不丹。 不丹的大多数国民都是佛教徒。 他们相信，幸福是过上美好生活的核心。 金钱只是其中很小的一部分。 旺楚国王希望自己的国家成为幸福乐土。 只有这样才算是真正的成功。 他为不丹提出了“国民幸福总值”，也就是GNH的理念。 它包含四个关于幸福的核心理念，助力不丹发展。

Four Pillars of Happiness Bhutan's government believes that happiness is based on four ideas or pillars. These are government rule, social and work matters, culture and traditions, and nature and the environment. The king and his government considered all four pillars when creating new laws.

幸福四大支柱：不丹政府认为，幸福建立在四大核心理念，也就是支柱之上。 它们分别是善政治理、社会民生、文化传统和自然环境。 国王和政府制定新法时，都会把这四大支柱纳入考量。

At first, the four pillars were only guides for people's happiness. There was no real survey. Bhutan was a quiet country protected from the modern world. Its people led simple lives and were mostly content. People dressed in Bhutanese clothing. They took time each day to sit quietly with their thoughts. They enjoyed nature. Families spent time together. Then things slowly began to change.

一开始，四大支柱只是人们追求幸福的指引。 并没有正式的调研。 不丹是个宁静的国家，隔绝在现代世界之外。 人们过着简单的生活，大多都很知足。 人们穿着不丹传统服饰。 每天都会花时间静坐思考。 他们享受自然的美好。 一家人常常团聚在一起。 后来，一切慢慢开始改变。