Do you think it’s possible to live for more than two hundred years old? If you said no, well you’ve probably never heard of Li Ching Yuen.
In a 1930 New York Times article, professor Wu Chung-chieh of the Chengdu University discovered some records from the Imperial Chinese government from 1827 which were congratulating Li Ching-Yuen on his 150th birthday. Eventually, the professor also found 1877 records congratulating Li on his 200th birthday.
And he still lived almost 60 years after that.
Reports tell us that Li has been a herbalist since the tender age of 10. He gathered herbs in mountain rangers and for almost 40 years, he lived on a diet of herbs including lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shoo wu and gotu kola and rice wine.
In 1749, he served in the Chinese army as a martial arts teacher. He was 71 years old at the time. Li married 23 times and was father to more than 200 children.
When asked by Wu Pei-fu, a warlord, about what his secret was to longevity, Li’s response was:
“Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.”
On his death bed, the 256-year-old man’s popular last words were:
“I have done all that I have to do in this world.”
Many believe that aside from eating nutritious foods and living a healthy lifestyle, one of the main factors that contributed to Li’s lengthy lifespan is his optimistic outlook in life. Like he said, he didn’t have any regrets in life and so that must either mean he has achieved everything he wanted or that he still maintained positive even when he failed in some areas of his life.
Regardless of what the real answer may be, we can all learn a thing or two from this Master of Longevity.