What is the longest age a person has ever had? It turns out that the answer lies in Li Ching Yuen who lives in amazing 256 years and this is not a myth or a fictional story.
According to an article in the New York Times, in 1930, Wu Chung-chieh, a professor at Chengdu University, found the Imperial Chinese government records of 1827 congratulating Li Ching -Yuen on his 150th birthday, and later documents congratulated him on his 200th birthday in 1877.
In 1928, a New York Times correspondent wrote that many parents in Li's circle affirmed that their grandfathers knew him when they were boys, and that at that time he was a grown man.
Li Ching Yuen reportedly started his herbalist career at the age of 10, where he collected herbs in the mountains and knew his potential for longevity. For nearly 40 years, he survived with herbal diets such as lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shoo wu and gotu kola and rice wine.
In 1749, at the age of 71, he joined the Chinese army as a martial arts teacher. Li is said to be a much-loved figure in his community, married 23 times and fathering over 200 children.
According to a generally accepted and recounted story in his province, Li could read and write as a child, and on his tenth birthday had traveled in Kansu, Shansi, Tibet, Annam, Siam and Manchuria to collect potions.
Then he switched to sell herbal concoctions collected by others. He sold lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, shu wu and gotu kola along with other Chinese ingredients, and went on a diet of this herb and rice wine.
According to one of Li's disciples, he once met a 500-year-old man, even older, who taught him Qigong practice and dietary recommendations that would help him prolong his life for the proportion of the superhuman. Apart from the Qigong and herbal rich diet, what else can we learn from this Master of Longevity?
On his deathbed, Li said, "I have done everything I need to do in this world".
Could his last peaceful words also signal one of the greatest secrets to a long and prosperous life? It is interesting to note that in the West, it is often taught to believe that aging is something that should be "beaten" with high-tech infrared devices and sophisticated treatment.
Asked his secret for longevity, Li replied, "A calm heart, sitting like a turtle, walking swiftly like a dove and sleeping like a dog."
Of course, these were the words of advice Li gave to Wu Pei-fu, the warlord, who brought Li to his home to learn the secrets of a very long life.
Li argues that inner peace and peace of mind combined with breathing techniques is a great secret of longevity. Obviously, his diet plays a huge role, but the interesting thing is that the recorded parent in history records his long life in his state of mind.
With an average age for the West that is currently between 70-85 years old, the thinking of someone over the age of 100 is likely to be widespread. The mind of someone over the age of 200 seems very suspicious.