This is the
second time around on this story. It has
been reworked by this writer and some fresh information is available. The scrutiny that it received is noteworthy
and should really have flushed out deliberate substitution. By that I mean mr Li taking on the identity
of a revered earlier practitioner with whom he shared knowledge. Yet that is exactly were an investigation
would go.
So it is
appropriate to accept the proposition as possible and false hood unproven. This at least allows us to read the material
and investigate his life lessons.
Check my interpolations
Lessons
About Longevity From a 256-Year-Old
Last Updated: April 8,
2014 7:15 am
Mr. Li Qing Yun
(1677–1933) died at the age of 256 years old. He had 24 wives, and lived
through nine emperors in the Qing Dynasty. (Public Domain)
Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.
According to legend, Mr. Li Qing Yun (1677–1933) was a Chinese medicine physician, herbal expert, qigong master, and tactical consultant. He was said to have lived through nine emperors in the Qing Dynasty to be 256 years old.
His May 1933 obituary in
Time Magazine, titled “Tortoise-Pigeon-Dog,” revealed Li’s secrets of
longevity: “Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a
pigeon and sleep like a dog.”
Mr. Li is said to have had quite unusual habits in his daily
living. He did not drink hard
liquor or smoke and ate his meals at regular times. He was a vegetarian and
frequently drank wolfberry (also known as goji berry) tea. [ this is clearly unusual
for his time and place – arclein]
He slept early and got up
early. When he had time, he
sat up straight with his eyes closed and hands in his lap, at times not moving
at all for a few hours. [ this is straight forward meditation and the time length suggests
a skilled practitioner –arclein ]
In his spare time, Li
played cards, managing to lose enough money every time for his opponent’s meals
for that day. Because of his generosity and levelheaded demeanor, everyone
liked to be with him. [ I like him already. This
way he vigorously exercised his brain and maintained a happy social group,
there is a really good lesson here – arclein ]
Mr. Li spent his whole life
studying Chinese herbs and discovering the secrets of longevity, traveling
through provinces of China and as far as Thailand to gather herbs and treat illnesses.
While it is unclear whether Li actually lived as long as is
believed, what little we know of his habits fit with modern science’s findings
about longevity.
Research
Dan Buettner, author of
“The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the
Longest,” researches the science of longevity. In his book and in a 2009 TED
talk, he examined the lifestyle habits of four geographically distinct
populations around the world.
All of these
groups—Californian Adventists, Okinawans, Sardinians, and Costa Ricans—live to
be over 100 years of age at a far greater rate than most people, or they live a
dozen years longer than average. He calls the places where these groups live
“blue zones.”
According to Buettner’s
research, all blue-zone groups eat a
vegetable-based diet. The group of Adventists in Loma Linda, California,
eat plenty of legumes and greens as mentioned in the Bible. Herders living
the in the highlands of Sardinia eat an unleavened whole grain bread, cheese
from grass-fed animals, and a special wine.
Buettner found that
low-calorie diets help in extending life, as demonstrated by a group of healthy
elderly Okinawans who practice a Confucian rule of stopping eating when one
is 80 percent full. [ I now practice an eighteen hour fast on Monday, Wednesday and
Fridays and am trying to figure out how to remove most meat from my diet, This has led to a weight reset of negative
fifty pounds – arclein ]
Perhaps Li’s wolfberry tea
played a crucial part in his health. After hearing Li’s story, medical
researchers from Britain and France conducted an in-depth study of wolfberry
and found that it contains an unknown
vitamin called “Vitamin X,” also known as the “beauty vitamin.” Their
experiments confirmed that wolfberry inhibits the accumulation of fat and
promotes new liver cells, lowers blood glucose and cholesterol, and so on.
Wolfberry performs a role of rejuvenation: It activates the
brain cells and endocrine glands; enhances the secretion of hormones; and
removes toxins accumulated in the blood, which can help maintain a normal
function of body tissues and organs.
Meditation
Researchers have found
numerous benefits to regular meditation. Neuroscientists at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School asked two groups of stressed-out high-tech
employees to either meditate over eight weeks or live as they normally do.
They found that the
meditators “showed a pronounced shift in activity to the left frontal lobe,”
reads a 2003 Psychology Today article. “This mental shift decreases the
negative effects of stress, mild depression, and anxiety. There is also less
activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.”
Aside from meditation, Buettner found that regularly scheduled
downtime undoes inflammation, which is a reaction to stress. The Adventists in
California strictly adhere to their 24-hour Sabbath and spend the time
reflecting, praying, and enjoying their social circles.
Community
Buettner also found that
community is a huge factor in the longevity of blue-zone groups. Typical
Okinawans have many close friends, with whom they share everything. Sardinian
highlanders have a reverence for the elderly not found in modern Western
societies. The Adventists put family first. [ I whole heartedly support this obvious regime we need it and it
supports my own agenda in community formation – arclein ]
A sense of belonging and
having healthy friends and family encourage the individual to live healthily as
well.
In “Outliers,” Malcolm
Gladwell examined a group of Italians called the Rosetans, who migrated to an
area west of Bangor, Pennsylvania. Across the board, they had lower incidents
of heart disease and generally lived long, healthy lives. After experiments, it
was determined that their secret was not genetics or even diet (41 percent of
their diet came from fat).
“The Rosetans had created a powerful, protective social
structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world,” Gladwell
wrote. “The Rosetans were healthy because of where they were from, because of
the world they had created for themselves in their tiny little town in the
hills.”
Purposeful Living
In his travels, Buettner
came across a common theme among blue-zone groups: None of them had the
concept of retirement. As it turns out, to keep going makes it easier to keep
going.
[curiously, I have rejected the whole concept of retirement my
entire life as simply inappropriate. – arclein ]
Purposeful living into the
sunset years is a mantra to the Okinawans and Sardinians. In those groups, Buettner
met centenarian men and women who continued to climb hills, build fences, fish,
and care for great-great-great-great grandchildren.
Interestingly, none of these centenarians exercise purposely as we
Westerners who go to the gym do. “They simply live active lives that warrant
physical activity,” Buettner said. They all walk, cook, and do chores manually,
and many of them garden. [ what I miss most is my own garden today just for the
natural exercise - arclein ]
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