According to an article in the New York Times in 1930, Wu Chung-chieh, professor at Chengdu University, discovered documents from the Imperial Chinese government dating from 1827 and congratulating Li Ching-Yuen on his 150th birthday, as well as other documents later congratulating him on his 200th birthday in 1877. In 1928, a New York Times correspondent wrote that many old men in Li’s neighborhood claimed their grandfathers had known him when they were boys, and that he was then an adult.
Li Ching Yuen is said to have started his career as an herbalist at the age of 10, where he gathered herbs in mountain ranges and learned their power for longevity. For nearly 40 years, he survived on a diet of herbs like lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, shoo wu and gotu kola and rice wine. In 1749, at the age of 71, he joined the Chinese armies as a martial arts teacher. Li is said to be a beloved figure in his community, who has married 23 times and is the father of over 200 children.
According to accounts generally accepted in his province, Li could read and write from his childhood, and by his tenth birthday he had traveled to Kansu, Shansi, Tibet, Annam, Siam and Manchuria to collect flowers. herbs. During the first hundred years he continued to practice this profession. Then he moved on to selling herbs picked by others. He sold lingzhi, goji berries, wild ginseng, shou wu and gotu kola as well as other Chinese herbs, and lived on these herbs and rice wine.
He was not the only one
According to one of Li’s disciples, he once met an even older 500-year-old man, who taught him Qigong exercises and dietary recommendations that would help him extend his lifespan to proportions. superhuman. Apart from Qigong and a diet rich in herbs, what can we learn from this master of longevity?
What do you say about this? On her deathbed, Li said, “I have done everything I have to do in this world.” It is interesting that in the West we are often taught to believe that aging is something that must be “fought” with high tech infrared devices and advanced drugs.
Li was asked what his secret to longevity is. He replied, “It was in these terms that Li advised Wu Pei-fu, the warlord, who took him to his home to teach him the secret of an extremely long.
Li maintained that inner calm and peace of mind, combined with breathing techniques, were the secrets of incredible longevity. It is obvious that his diet would have played an important role. But it is fascinating to note that the old man of history attests to his long life by his state of mind.
With the average lifespan in the western world currently being 70 to 85 years, the idea of someone over 100 seems a long way off. The thought of a person over 200 years old seems extremely suspicious. But why not believe that people can live that long?
We have to keep in mind that some people in this world don’t live a lifestyle like the vast majority, that they don’t have to deal with the stress of debt, that they don’t breathe the polluted air in cities and that they exercise regularly. They do not consume refined sugar, flour, or foods that have been sprayed with pesticides.
They don’t eat fatty meats, sweet desserts and genetically modified foods. No antibiotics. No alcohol and no tobacco. Their diet not only excludes junk foods that we so often consume, it also includes super foods and herbs which are like steroids for our organs and immune system.
They also spend their free time in nature practicing breathing and meditation techniques that have been shown to improve mental, physical and emotional health. They keep it simple, sleep well, and spend a lot of time in nature under the sun. When we have the opportunity to relax in the sun, we instantly feel rejuvenated and we call it a “vacation”. Imagine spending your life doing this in the mountains, and combining it with perfect mental, spiritual and physical well-being.
I have no doubt for a second that if we did all of the things we know we are supposed to do, living to 100 would be trivial. When we treat our bodies well, who knows how long we can live?