The curious story of Li Ching-Yun: the man who lived to be 256 years old.
According to what is reported in the necrologies of the issues of New York Times and Time Magazine dating May the 6th 1933, mr. Li Ching-Yun died after raising 180 descendents and burying 23 wives at the incredible age of 256.
This is the mysterious story of the most long-lived man known to us.
As you might imagine, not much is known about this man. It is certain that he was born in Szechwan, China, the same province in which he died. We do know that, starting from the tender age of 10, Li received adequate education and later travelled to Kansu, Shansi, Tibet, Annam, Siam and Manchuria, where he worked harvesting medical Herbs.
Following this work experience, his story becomes less clear. Most probably, for the next 100 years mr. Li sold his herbs, selling them to other producers towards that activity’s end. According to Time magazine, the man’s right hand had nails which were up to 15cm long.
It is said that one day the ruler of the Wu Pei-Fu empire went to Li’s house to ask him what was the secret of his longevity. Li’s answer was, “keep a calm heart, sit like a turtle, walk joyfully like a pigeon and sleep like a dog”.
Another explanation to his longevity is that Li Ching-Yun was believed to keep himself young through the practice of Qigong, which he mastered from a 500 year old hermit who taught him movement and breathing techniques and a correct diet.
The local sources from that time period spoke of their surprise in seeing Li Ching-Yun as a perfectly healthy man in spite of his age. Some witnesses had childhood memories of Li, others told stories of how he was a good friend of their grandparents.
So is this story a mere exaggeration? A name coincidence? A gross mistake on behalf of the Chinese government?
Li Ching-Yun himself admitted to have been born in 1736, which if we take into account the year of his death, would mean that he lived to be 197. However, in 1930 a professor Wu Chung-chien from Minkuo University found records which stated that mister Li was born in 1677. The same records report the fact that the Chinese government congratulated him on his 150th and 200th birthdays.
Is it possible that this man had forgotten his birth date?
According to the Guinness book of Records, the most long-lived human being was French woman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days. If mr. Li’s story were to be true, he would break that record by 130 years.
Can a man have lived this long?
