Or not… Can a person actually live that old?

We received requests for a status post on Facebook. It's about a Chinese man who is said to have been a whopping 256 years old. The link leads to an external page to an article where it is described how one can become so “ancient”.

This article is about:

Chinese
Image in plain text:

…whether the sensational headline is justified or not:

– meditative attitude
– friendly – ​​safe living communities/relationships
– attractive meaning in life and last but not least
– careful nutrition

This claim is not new. Back in 2016, colleague Andre rightly questioned this man's age.

A quick summary of what the article is exactly about:

The bottom line is that many of the methods that Li Qing Yun is said to have used back then are still considered healthy today: meditation, social and meaningful life, vegetarian diet, Chinese herbalism. In particular, wolfberry tea is emphasized, which Li Qing Yun is said to have often drunk, which contains a mysterious “vitamin X” that is said to have all sorts of positive effects on the body. But you shouldn't storm the shops and online stores because of this: teas with wolfberries are actually healthy, but there are also many false products with this name on the market. Essentially, these berries are no healthier than an apple; they are not a miracle cure .

Fact check:

If we take a closer look at the man's year of birth, we learn that Li Qing Yun dated his birth year to 1736. At the time of his death in 1933 he would have been “only” 197 years old.

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Source: Time Magazine

How the 256 years ultimately came about is questionable. A theory from the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health states that 256 is a multiple of 8 and 8 is considered a lucky number in Chinese mythology. Between then and now he has already been made 59 years older.

Is there actually any evidence?

In short: no. There is no birth certificate or clear evidence that Li Qing Yun was that old. Although Professor Wu Chung-chieh from the University of Chengdu claimed that there were records in which the Chinese government congratulated the Chinese on his 150th birthday in 1827 and his 200th birthday in 1877, he failed to provide any evidence.

Can people even live that long?

That can currently be doubted. The highest recorded age that a human being has ever reached was 122 years. There is no doubt that Asians live healthier lives than people in Western countries, although China is in the middle of the pack, with the Japanese taking . A healthy diet, meditation and plenty of sleep may extend life, but it is doubtful whether you will actually live to be 256 years old, as the natural decay of human cells is too rapid.

Has anyone ever lied about their age?

Surprise: Of course. In 1986, the Japanese Shigechiyo Izumi in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person in the world at the age of 120. However, in 1987, 14 months after his death, it was found out that he was “only” 105 years old: he was born in 1880, but took on the identity of his older brother, born in 1865, who died young. In ancient Asian cultures, it was often common for the younger brother to take the name of an older, deceased brother as a so-called “necronym” in order to honor him.

It is assumed that Li Qing Yun did not actually live to be 256 (or 197) years old, but that it was either a “name takeover”, identity theft or a coincidental similarity of name. However, there is no solid evidence against or against the fact that he reached such a biblical age.

Result

This mystery cannot be solved in a truly satisfactory way. No matter how healthy that Chinese man may have lived, doctors doubt that he could have lived to such an old age. The story seemed even more fantastical because Li said that at the age of 130, he met a man in the mountains who was 500 years old and gave him nutritional tips. In terms of age, we are slowly approaching the biblical figures, who are said to have been 800 years old or older.

Personally, the author of this article also sees this story as more of a myth.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )