Exploring how abandoning the Myth of Pure Evil can increase our happiness, through the lens of Yimou Zhang's "Happy Times"
Murder. Assault. Theft. Exploiting a blind girl in an elaborately conceived fake hotel in an attempt to win the love of her abusive stepmother. Most people would characterize these acts as “evil,” things they can’t imagine doing themselves. Somehow, though, these acts of cruelty keep happening, while even perpetrators of the most atrocious crimes do not think they are doing anything wrong. Such is the case of the aging and loveless Zhao from Zhang Yimou’s 2000 Chinese film “Happy Times.” Zhao, desperate to keep up the appearance of wealth to the woman finally willing to marry him, lies about running the successful Happy Times Hotel and allows her blind, neglected stepdaughter, Wu Ying, to work for him as a masseuse. As Zhao’s deceit spirals, he fosters a close bond with Wu Ying, who later reveals that she knew the hotel was fraudulent all along, but nonetheless looked for the good intentions behind his duplicity. Ultimately, the film ends tragically, with Wu Ying leaving the massage parlor and Zhao falling into a coma after getting hit by a truck, but not before penning a letter to Wu Ying in her beloved but absent father’s name.
Though his propagation of such a complex web of lies is off-putting, Zhao’s duplicity does not prevent Wu Ying from finding the good in Zhao. Disabled, fatherless, and the black sheep of her makeshift household, her empathy allows her to discover happiness she would have never found otherwise. In other words, Wu Ying was able to transcend the Myth of Pure Evil, a concept originated by social psychologist Ray Baumeister. In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt defines Baumeister’s fallacy as the human tendency to believe that “evildoers are pure in their evil motives,” while “victims are pure in their victimhood.” In reality, neither perspective is completely accurate. Instead, just because a person does “evil” things, it does not mean they do not have any “good” in them, and vice versa. Furthermore, these “evil” acts are often self-rationalized as “good” as Zhao did when he used the excuse of his desire to protect Wu Ying. Wu Ying, meanwhile, not only empathizes with Zhao’s rationalization, but finds gratitude for him despite his constant deception. Her appreciation leads to perhaps an even stronger friendship than she would have formed had Zhao not lied, and this friendship, in turn, leads to her happiness. Through this exploration of Wu Ying and Zhao’s nuanced relationship, “Happy Times” serves as a realistic case study for how wrongdoing occurs in the real world. Empathy allows for a deeper understanding of human nature and motivations, abandoning the Myth of Pure Evil, and thus deepening social connections — and ultimately, happiness. The trick is to do so without condoning all cruelty, which can lead to exploitation of both oneself and others.
In spite of Zhao’s strong paternal love for Wu Ying, his altruistic motivations nevertheless do not seem to justify his tangled lies, a contradiction explained by psychologist David Perkins’ “makes-sense” stopping rule. People decide on a stance (they are good) and then “find evidence that supports it, and if [they find] enough so that [their] position ‘makes sense’ [they] stop thinking.” Zhao employs Perkins’ rule when he believes that it is better to continue lying to Wu Ying, irrationally hoping that she will never learn the truth, rather than shatter her trust and the camaraderie they have built. This self-assessment may be through a “rose-colored mirror,” but hardly anyone, including Zhao, would hurt others for the sake of causing them pain. While intent certainly does not equal impact, there is room for considering his kind intentions when assessing the immorality of his schemes. At first, he simply wants to get married, a shallow and selfish motivation, as he is driven by desperation after 18 failed relationships, not true love — he barely knows Wu Ying’s stepmother and frequently mocks her weight. However, after meeting Wu Ying, Zhao’s incentive for continuing the Happy Times ruse changes. After Wu Ying spontaneously quits her job as a masseuse, Zhao’s best friend assumes Zhao is distressed at her absence because he wants to save his marriage, asking, “But if she leaves, will that hurt your thing with [her stepmother]?” Zhao corrects him immediately, revealing his changed intentions: “For sure. But the point is whether something might happen to [Wu Ying].” Zhao now wants to protect her and save her from the hopelessness triggered by her blindness, her stepmother’s neglect, and her father’s absence. Wu Ying believes if she has made money, she will be one step closer to reuniting with her father and curing her blindness. If she spends more time with Zhao than her stepmother, she will have a parental figure who treats her kindly rather than one who disparages her. In this way, Zhao directly opposes Wu Ying’s stepmother, rather than siding with her like he would have had he cared more about his marriage than about Wu Ying herself. For instance, when Wu Ying requests ice cream after her shift at the Happy Times Hotel, Zhao buys her a cheap popsicle instead, pretending that the unaffordable Häagen-Dazs is closed. His love is still based on falsities, but he would rather be dishonest and protect Wu Ying from the world’s ruthless realities than deny her ice cream like her resentful stepmother did the night she first met Zhao. Wu Ying appreciates his consideration, seeing the good intent beneath the “pure evil” of Zhao’s lies as well as his intricate Happy Times sham.
Because she can look beyond his well-intended manipulation, Wu Ying’s companionship with Zhao transcends his dishonesty. Though Wu Ying is aware that the Happy Times Hotel is fake, she grows comfortable enough with Zhao to tell him the tragic story of her blindness, and intimately touch his face to learn what he looks like. Their tight bond stems from Wu Ying’s gratitude, an emotion that itself stems from reciprocity, a “deep instinct” and the natural basis of all social relationships, whether friendly or antagonistic. Reciprocity is triggered and reinforced by either vengeance or gratitude: vengeance leads to negative reciprocity (like “getting someone back”), while gratitude leads to positive reciprocity (like thanking a retail salesperson or the ping-pong of casual conversation). When gratitude is involved, reciprocity has the power to “strengthen, lengthen, and rejuvenate social ties.” Reciprocity is a key piece of forming friendships, and it can only be accessed by abandoning the Myth of Pure Evil.
By understanding that “evil” actions are not entirely malicious, and may have benevolent intentions behind them—like Wu Ying understanding Zhao’s love for her—one can induce gratitude and thus the positive reciprocity that precipitates interpersonal connections. For example, after she leaves the Happy Times Hotel, Wu Ying expresses her appreciation in a tape-recorded message to Zhao, where she reveals that she has always been aware of his schemes. “Manager Zhao, I know you were all trying to help me even though you have no money,” she says, acknowledging his moral and monetary sacrifices with warmth in her voice. She continues, “I never once felt deceived. Instead, […] those days with you were the happiest of my life. Those were our happy times together. […] Even though the money was fake, your intentions were genuine.” Wu Ying’s ability to trust Zhao’s “genuine” intentions so strongly that she “never once felt deceived,” just happy, is a testament to the power of leaving behind the Myth of Pure Evil. Only her “happy times together” with Zhao matter, regardless of the circumstances or the “evil” trickery surrounding them. Because Wu Ying recognizes Zhao’s intentions to help her, she sees good in his deception.
Although Wu Ying claims that she does not want Zhao to find her—or that she does not want reciprocity—both her message and her sudden departure are forms of repayment for Zhao’s protection of her throughout her employment. Though she says it was a “difficult decision” to end her friendship with Zhao, she concludes––whether it is true or not—that “it’s for the best [to not] trouble [him] anymore.” She leaves with his best interest in mind, just like he acted in accordance with hers. Moreover, had Zhao not fallen into a coma, he would have shown reciprocity to Wu Ying by giving her an affectionate letter forged to look like it was from her absent father—yet another lie, but as always, one meant to better her well-being. Both these acts would have strengthened Zhao’s and Wu Ying’s companionship immensely, but even despite “Happy Times”’ somber ending, their gratitude and reciprocity are evident throughout the film. For instance, Zhao continues his fraud in order to shelter Wu Ying from her abusive stepmother and provide her with a source of hope, while Wu Ying remains silent because she “didn’t want to let [Zhao] down.”
Wu Ying’s compliance is not only an example of her gratitude for Zhao, but a conscious participation in his wrongdoing. Though Wu Ying is the clear victim of Zhao’s scam, he is not the only one in the wrong. In fact, according to Baumeister, it is rare for anything to be completely one person’s fault. In many cases, realizing this enables gratitude and its consequential reciprocity and intimate connections. In Baumeister’s words, also quoted in The Happiness Hypothesis, “The instant [someone] see[s] some contribution [they] made to a conflict, [their] anger softens.” Wu Ying, ever the perfect example of abandoning the Myth of Pure Evil, does just that, admitting in her tape-recorded message that she “suspected the massage room was fake from the beginning” yet she still “played [her] part.” By owning up to her role in the fraudulent Happy Times Hotel and allowing her anger for Zhao to “soften,” Wu Ying is able to supplant it with love and appreciation.
Fortunately for Wu Ying, the social relationships that form as a result of love, admiration, and gratitude, are the most important contributors to happiness. According to Haidt, humans are ultrasocial creatures who have evolved around their need for supportive relationships, which strengthen the immune system, and extend life expectancy, among countless other biological benefits. In other words, one needs friendships to survive, let alone be happy; deep friendships are in fact the most reliable way to predict life satisfaction. On the other hand, relationship conflicts, like what would have afflicted Zhao and Wu Ying had they succumbed to the Myth of Pure Evil, are one of the few external conditions humans are unable to adapt to, as they “damage every day, even days when [one doesn’t] see the other person but ruminate[s] about the conflict nonetheless.” By choosing love over hatred of “pure evil,” and by becoming friends instead of enemies, both Zhao and Wu Ying managed to circumvent certain unhappiness. In addition, though relationships are already the most crucial component of personal well-being, because both characters have adverse life conditions, positive social connections are even more significant. It is difficult—even impossible—to change the sadness that comes with Zhao being poor and single and Wu Ying being orphaned, perpetually ignored, and blind. Romantic connections, familial bonds, physical wellbeing, and wealth have all failed them. Therefore, their source of happiness must come from their platonic relationship with each other, which is possible because they chose to disregard the Myth of Pure Evil.
While abandoning the Myth of Pure Evil can lead to mutual understanding and deeper connections, condoning every immoral action can lead to continued exploitation. Baumeister’s finding that victims are often partially at fault may be true, but both sides are rarely equally to blame. It is fair to understand the perpetrator’s motives and one’s role in their wrongdoing while still holding them accountable. Intent is important but it does not always diminish impact; it only matters that one considers whether it does. In Happy Times, this concept is best illustrated by Wu Ying’s relationship with her stepmother. Like everyone, Wu Ying’s stepmother has a reason for her emotionally abusive, neglectful behavior: her resentment for Wu Ying’s father, who promised to pay her child support after their divorce but never followed through, leaving her to “do everything” for Wu Ying. Her desire to take her hurt out on Wu Ying is a form of negative reciprocity triggered by vengeance, a natural human instinct––she, like everybody, is not all bad, but that does not mean her mistreatment is right. Unlike Zhao, Wu Ying’s stepmother does not have Wu Ying’s best interest—or Wu Ying at all—in mind. Unlike Zhao, she is driven by hate, not love. She is thinking of her hatred for Wu Ying’s father when banning Wu Ying from eating ice cream and watching TV, when allowing her to stumble around their apartment in her underwear, when forcing her to sit alone in the dark during family gatherings. No child should be treated this way, regardless of their abuser’s motives. It is possible to have empathy while maintaining self-respect; there is a difference between having empathy and accepting wrongdoing.
In conclusion, letting go of the Myth of Pure Evil is always beneficial, as it leaves room for gratitude, reciprocity, self-accountability, closer relationships, and ultimately, happiness. However, merely acknowledging the nuance in evil acts does not mean one should always ignore that they are, in fact, evil. In Happy Times, this distinction is clear, as Zhao and Wu Ying are the main characters whom the audience is meant to empathize with despite their wrongdoing, while Wu Ying’s stepmother’s negative reciprocity turns her into an unrealistically one-dimensional villain. Though the film accurately captures our imperfect human tendency to act out of both love and self-interest––or out of both good and evil––in the real world, the line between those who deserve leeway and those who do not is often blurred. This shaky dichotomy raises the question: Are we brave enough to abandon the Myth of Pure Evil, even if it means we have to confront the stark reality of mixed intentions in others and in ourselves?
Works Cited
Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
Zhang, Yimou, dir. Happy Times. 2002; Guangxi, China: Guangxi Studios, 2020. Apple TV. https://tv.apple.com/az/movie/happy-times/umc.cmc.5b7ihmpf8rxo1tbahyy6bp1ro.
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