Bodyshock: The Amazing Story behind the 256 Year-Old Man

[Dover]

According to the 1933 obituaries in both Time Magazine and the New York Times, Li Ching-Yun was reported to have buried 23 wives and fostered 180 descendants by the time he died at the age of 256.

Was he really that old? Could he have forgotten his own birthday or exaggerated his claim? Environmental Graffiti investigates.

The Secrets to an Interminable Life

“Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.” These were the words of advice Li gave to Wu Pei-fu, the warlord, who took Li into his house to learn the secret of extremely long life.

Li maintained that inward calm and peace of mind were the secrets to incredible longevity. His diet after all, was mainly based on rice and wine.

From 0 to 256

Unsurprisingly, not much is known about Li Ching-Yun’s early life. We know he was born in the province of Szechwan in China, where he also died. We also know that by his tenth birthday, Ching-Yun was literate and had travelled to Kansu, Shansi, Tibet, Annam, Siam and Manchuria gathering herbs. After that, it gets a bit fuzzy…

Apparently, for over one hundred years, Li continued selling his own herbs and then subsequently sold herbs collected by others. He also (according to Time) had six-inch long fingernails on his right hand...cont'd

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/bodyshock-the-amazing-story-behind-the-256-year-old-man/1130

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Wikipedia page on Li Ching-Yun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Qing_Yuen

[enki23]

1. that's incredible alright

not credible at all

[Mrs. Overall]

2. I thought this was going to be a post about McCain.....

[Reynardo Parris]

4. haha

McCain should get used to be the butt of age-jokes. And truthfully, age does matter. We need a president with stamina and who can understand the young generation.

[edhopper]

3. He not only slept like a dog

but counted his life in dog years too.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Slept like a dog and lied like a rug

[Xithras]

6. He claimed to be 197, not 256

From your own wiki link, he claimed to have been born in 1736, which would have made him 197 at death. Others claim to have found records of his birth from 1677 which would have made him 256. He didn't claim 256 himself, which is an important distinction.

While it would be an extreme case, it is theoretically possible for a person to live past 200. The pseudo-scientific claim that human life is naturally limited to about 120 has little real scientific basis...it was a hypothetical that became "common knowledge" back in the 1970's. If you're lucky enough to dodge cancer, can keep up moderate exercise levels, and eat a diet that will stave off heart disease, it's theoretically possible. 197 would be extreme, but the confirmed 122 year old who died a decade ago was a bit extreme herself.

The interesting bit on this guy is the newspaper article mentioning that the Chinese government had congratulated him on reaching 150 years of age...in 1827. Even if he were BORN in 1827, he'd have been 105 years old when he died in 1933. Since it would be hard to pass off a newborn as a 150 year old, we'd have to assume the guy was at least in his 20's to be able to "dress up" and scam himself off as 150 year old. Even if he was 20, that puts him at 125 years at his death.