Abstract: In recent years "happiness" has drawn much attention from Chinese and international society, but the reason for these discussions tends to be neglected. The root of such focus on happiness and its perception is actually deep in value crisis. "Happiness" as a popular research object of capitalist economic studies, especially of modern western mainstream economics, is also a concept of political economics. The perception of happiness in contemporary China has experienced two distinct stages, so the discussion of it cannot be intensive enough without consideration of the history of modern (revolutionary) China.

Key words: Perception of happiness, modernity, revolutionary China, family life