256 Year Old Man?
“Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, and sleep like a dog.”
Li Ching-Yuen lived a very long life and the secret to his longevity was reportedly his long hours of meditation, his special diet, and the peaceful life he led in his homeland, the province of Szechwan, where he collected and studied herbs. Professor Wu Chung-Chien, claimed that Li Ching-Yuen lived from 1677-1933, so when he died he was really 256 years old.
The Professor revealed the case in the New York Times, about a man named Li Ching-Yuen, for whom he found records in which the imperial government of the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China, praises him for his great servitude and immense contribution to China, and sending best regards for his 150th birthday in 1827, and for his 200th in 1877.
Apparently, this man was a master Taoist, and according to the only official person sworn to have met him in person, General Yang Sen (1884-1977), after his service, found that Li Ching-Yuen retired from the army and lived out his remaining years in solitude, selling herbs in the mountains, which Yang found when he tracked him down.
He was also a master of Ba Kwa Chang and internal kung-fu and Chi Gung. It was said he met a Master Daoist who taught him meditation and he was over 500 years old. A Taoist Tsin
Yes, I have read that as well. That he learned a lot in the mountains from practitioners much older than he. Thanks for writing! -Andrew