Imperial Chinese government records from 1827 were discovered by a professor of the Chengdu University, Wu Chung-chieh. Those records were congratulations to Li Ching-Yuen for his 150th birthday and also there were documents that were congratulating the same man for this 200th birthday.
In the neighborhood where Li Ching-Yuen grew up many old men actually knew him when they were boys. Li was herbalist and he began his herbalist career at very young age. He wanted to go for a walk in the mountain and there he had many different herbs to choose from.
On a diet of only herbs he survived for almost 40 years. Those herbs included goji berry, wild ginseng, he shoo wu, gotu kola, rice wine and lingzhi. He became teacher of martial arts at the age of 71 in the Chinese armies. It is believed that he has been married 23 times during his life and that he was a father to over 200 children.
From the time when Li was a little boy many people did not know how to read or write but that was not the same for Li. He knew to read and write on a very young age and he traveled in Kansu, Shansi, Tibet, Annam, Siam and Manchuria on very young age in order to find new herbs. After a hundred of years gathering herbs he decided to start selling herbs gathered by others such as gotu kola, he shouwu, wild ginseng, goji berry, lingzhi and many other Chinese herbs
He got his dietary recommendations and Qigong exercises from 500-year-old man. Besides diets that are rich with herbs and Qigong exercises there is something else that Li said before dying and it was not any how connected to the high tech infrared devices that people in the West are taught about when it comes to extending the life time of a human.
Do you wonder what Li said? He said that he kept his heart quiet, that he walked sprightly like a pigeon, that he was sitting like a tortoise and that he was sleeping like a dog. He said that to Wu Pei-fu, the warlord who took Li into his house in order to find out about his secrets. That means that the secret for longevity is inward calm and peace of mind combined with breathing techniques. Also the herb diet might have been of a big importance also.
Many people do not believe that people can live 200 years and that is what makes this case also hard to believe for so many people. The ‘’normal’’ lifespan of the Western world is between 70-85 years and if someone is 100 years old it is believed that he or she had luck. Have someone ever asked him or herself – Why we do not believe that humans can live for so long?
On this planet there are still people that are not living the lifestyle that you are living. That means they do not sit in front of their computers for long hours, they do not use smartphones, they do not consume junk food and not natural sugars and they do not breathe in the pollute.
air with chemicals that we are breathing. Also they do not smoke or drink alcohol and when they get ill they do not use antibiotics. Last but not least they exercise every day. They also enjoy spending time out in nature to practice breathing techniques and meditating and with that they are not stressed.
We go for vacation for one week or 10 days in a year and imagine that you are on that kind of vacation every day – out in the nature on the sun, breathing fresh air and walking in the mountains. What if that is the key to a longer life? We could never know because we can’t escape the lifestyle we have.
