Abstract: As the ultimate goal of Marxism and a key issue in enhancing people’s well-being in the new era, a happy life is crucial for the success of socialist modernization and high-quality development. Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach inherited the views of Western philosophy on happiness and, through religious criticism, developed his own ideas on the issue. Karl Marx was influenced by his humanistic materialism on the one hand and, on the other hand, studied human freedom and happiness, before coming to criticize Feuerbach’s views, thus surpassing him with a practical view of happiness. This paper aims to clarify the materialist historical turn in Marx’s thought during his intellectual interaction with Feuerbach, highlighting Marx’s essential transcendence of Feuerbach’s happiness ideas in three aspects: the subject of happiness as “real individuals,” the path of happiness through practice, and the ultimate goal of achieving human liberation and free, comprehensive development. Studying the relationship between Marx and Feuerbach on happiness and deepening the understanding of Marx’s materialist historical turn can help criticize the illusory and idealist nature of the “hedonistic” and “pleasure-focused” happiness views in contemporary society and provide significance for promoting a struggle-based happiness view in the new era.

Key words: Karl Marx, Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach, thought on happiness, materialist conception of history