Those Who Know Happiness Live a Long Life

By Xiao Baogen

The following is a poem titled Enjoy Your Happiness by Shi Chengjin, a Yangsheng(health preservation) master from the Qing Dynasty:

How can you not feel content,

When your life is all happiness?

Since you know folly tastes bitter,

Being smart is your happiness.

Since you know hunger tastes bitter,

Having food is your happiness.

Since you know burden tastes bitter,

Being free is your happiness.

Since you know parting tastes bitter,

Reunion is your happiness.

Since you know the war tastes bitter,

Then the peace is your happiness.

Since you know prison tastes bitter,

Liberty is your happiness.

Since the lack of offspring tastes bitter,

Your children are your happiness.

Since you know illness tastes bitter,

Healthy life is your happiness.

Since you know the death tastes bitter,

Just living is your happiness.

If you know really bitter things,

At your door the happiness rings.

Yet I pity the men of the world,

For few know what happiness is.

Only when you know as I say,

Enjoy the happiness you may.

Be ignorant I pity not.

Do feel happy with what you got.

These lines are simple but mean so much. Such an attitude of life will doubtlessly lead to longevity.

Of course, there are different definitions of happiness. Some believe that money brings a sense of happiness; some feel happy in the hours of working; and some others insist that it’s all about a harmonious family. However, the ancient sages said that a cultivated character with virtue can bring you spiritual pleasure, and in the latter you will find happiness and longevity. So according to the ancients,“The highly virtuous ones live long.”

Many historical figures can be taken as examples.Confucius lived to 73, a rather old age in his time,even with all the failures in his political life. His way of health preservation can be revealed in his words,“A junzi (gentleman of noble character) will feel no sorrow.”

Bai Juyi, one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, who worked as an upright official in Hangzhou, lived to be 75. The locals gave him two nice-looking rocks as a gift, but he refused.“I am scared of these rocks,” said Bai,“for accepting them can hurt my integrity.”

Another well-known official, Liu Yong, did all good things in his selfless and fearless life. He died a peaceful death at the age of 85. Zheng Banqiao,the famous writer and poet in the Qing Dynasty,also worked as an honest and upright official. When Zheng later resigned from office, he made a living by selling his calligraphy and paintings, and lived to be 73. His attitude of life is mirrored in one of his poems:

My empty sleeves rustle in the chilly wind,

Because the official post did I cede.

Worry not, let me paint a thin bamboo.

Taking it to fish, I will myself feed.

Zhuang Zi (also spelled as Chuang Tzu) knew even more to enjoy his happiness. As a contemporary of Aristotle, he lived in pre-Qin period when the average life expectancy was around 30 years, and made it to 83.

In“Tian dao” of Zhuang Zi, he wrote,“Inaction brings happiness; a man enjoying his happiness will not be disturbed by sorrow or sickness, and will live a long life.” This is similar to what we modern people call“mental health.” According to Zhuang Zi,the reduction of desires is the primary condition for happiness in life.