百歲人瑞分享長壽秘訣

希迪里姆·恩德謝

You wouldnt know it watching him take care of his chickens on the family farm， but according to his birth certificate and official Mexican ID， Manuel Garcia Hernandez is 121 years old.

Garcia， who may just be the worlds oldest man， was born on 24 December 1896， according to his birth certificate from the Mexican state of Veracruz and his official identity card from the National Electoral Institute.

Mexican Manuel Garcia Hernandez， who claims to be 121 years old， poses for a picture at his home in Ciudad Juarez， Chihuahua state， Mexico on May 16， 2018.

He has never bothered calling the people at Guinness World Records to make it official.

But if his documents are correct， he is more than eight years older than Masazo Nonaka of Japan， the man who currently holds the title—born on 25 July 1905.

Anyway， age is only a number. Garcia says he doesnt feel a day over 80.

He says he only has two regrets in his very long life： losing his father at a young age， and the fact he can no longer work.

Yet he is impressively spry as he tosses feed to his chickens at the home he shares with his daughter in Ciudad Juarez， northern Mexico.

“Im happy， but I do feel tired. Im making an effort， because if I just lay in bed or sat in a chair all day， then I would get sick，” said Garcia， dressed in his trademark cowboy hat and Western shirt.

“I feel like Im 80 years old—though Im starting to stumble a bit when I walk，” he told AFP.

Garcia has seen a dizzying amount in his lifetime， from the arrival of electricity to the invention of television， the Mexican Revolution and the election of US President Donald Trump—his 22nd American president.

He started working in the fields at nine years old.

His father， who made and sold his own sweets， died at 35. It still saddens Garcia to have lost him so young， he said.

He himself did not get married until he was 45—to Rosa Medino， who was just 13 at the time.

They had five children， 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren， and were married for almost seven decades， until Rosa died eight years ago.

After that， Garcia moved north to Ciudad Juarez to live with his daughter Tomasa， who is 54.

Tomasas daughter and her family live next door， and another neighbour， an American， lets Garcia raise chickens in his large patio.

Garcia says caring for the chickens has helped keep him alive， and wishes he could work more.

“Id like to be able to work the way I used to， make my living in the fields. But I cant anymore. That makes me sad. I was very hard-working as a young man，” he said.

So， is Garcia the worlds oldest man？

Alice Pagan， a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records， said he would have to ask the company to check it out.

“We ask for a great deal of paperwork and proof to substantiate claims that meet our official guidelines. We also work with various expert gerontologists and consultants who assist in the investigation of such claims，” she told AFP in an email.

If Garcia really is 121， he would be not only the oldest man alive， but the oldest man ever， according to Guinness—beating Jiroemon Kimura of Japan， who died in 2013 at 116 years old.

The oldest woman ever was Jeanne Louise Calment of France， who died in 1997 at 122 years old， 164 days.

Garcias skin is wrinkled with age， and he lost a finger at 80 years old when it got tangled in his twirling lasso—an ancient cowboys war wound.

But he is in remarkably good health： he walks surprisingly fast， his vision is good since he had cataract surgery three years ago—though the sun hurts his eyes—and his mind is sharp.

He said he hopes to live to 125.

The keys to a long life， he said， are sleeping well， waking up early， eating healthy， taking vitamins and work.

He gets up every morning at 5：30 am and starts the day with a banana and apple smoothie， oatmeal and two eggs. Then he goes out to tend to his chickens.

“I ask God to give him some more years， until he has had enough，” said his daughter Tomasa.

“Sometimes he tells me his candle is going to go out little by little， but I dont think so. Hes alive， and Im happy for that.”

從曼努埃爾·加西亞·埃爾南德斯在農場養雞的樣子看不出來他有多大年紀，但是依據出生證明和墨西哥官方身份證，他時年121歲。

根據墨西哥韋拉克魯斯州出具的出生證明和國家選舉機構提供的官方身份證，加西亞出生于1896年12月24日，可能是世界上最年長的男性。

2018年5月16日，自稱121歲的墨西哥人曼努埃爾·加西亞·埃爾南德斯在家門口擺好姿勢照了一張相。他的家位于墨西哥奇瓦瓦州華雷斯城。

他從未費神聯絡過吉尼斯世界紀錄的工作人員做認證。

但若那些身份文件屬實，那他就比吉尼斯認證的在世最高齡男性還年長8歲。后者是出生于1905年7月25日的日本人野中正造。

不過，年齡只是一個數字。加西亞表示，他天天都覺得自己還沒過80歲。

回顧漫長的人生，他說自己只有兩件憾事：一是年幼喪父，二是現在無法再工作了。

不過，他在家里給雞崽投喂飼料時精力充沛的樣子令人印象深刻。他如今和女兒同住在墨西哥北部的華雷斯城。

“我很快樂，但也確實會感到疲憊。如果成天躺著或坐著我就會生病，所以我在努力活動?！奔游鱽嗩^戴標志性的牛仔帽，身穿標志性的西部風格襯衫，如是說道。

“我覺得自己像是80歲的人——不過走路開始有點兒不穩了?！彼诮邮芊ㄐ律绮稍L時表示。

一生中，加西亞經歷了令人眼花繚亂的紛繁歷史。從電力的問世，到電視機的發明、墨西哥革命及特朗普當選——這是他見證的第22位美國總統了。

9歲起，他就開始到田里干活了。

他父親是一位自產自銷的糖果商人，35歲便去世了。加西亞說，想起英年早逝的父親，他至今仍會悲傷。

他本人直到45歲才結婚，妻子羅莎·梅迪諾當時年僅13歲。

兩人育有5個子女，膝下共有15個孫輩和6個重孫。他們的婚姻延續了將近70年，直到羅莎8年前去世。

妻子去世后，加西亞便搬到了北方的華雷斯城，與當時54歲的女兒托馬薩同住。

托馬薩女兒一家就住在隔壁，另一位美國鄰居則同意加西亞在他家的大露臺上養雞。

加西亞說，照顧這些雞崽幫助他保持了活力。他希望自己能多多勞動。

“我想像從前一樣種地謀生，但再也不行了。這讓我很難過。我年輕時很勤勞?！彼f。

那么，加西亞是世界上最年長的男性嗎？

吉尼斯世界紀錄發言人愛麗絲·帕甘表示，加西亞必須要求吉尼斯公司核查才行。

“我們要求提交大量文件和證據來證實那些申請符合官方指南。我們也與多位老年醫學專家和顧問合作，請他們協助調查這類申請?！彼卩]件中向法新社表示。

如果加西亞真的有121歲，根據吉尼斯世界紀錄，他就不僅僅是在世的最年長男性，而是整個人類史上最年長的男性——他將超過日本人次郎右衛門，后者于2013年以116歲高齡去世。

迄今為止，史上最長壽的女性是法國人讓娜·路易絲·卡爾芒，她于1997年亡故，在世122歲164天。

加西亞因年長而皮膚遍布褶皺。他80歲時還因被套索纏繞而斷了一根手指——這是自古以來牛仔的職業戰傷。

但他依然十分健康：不僅走路快得驚人，而且3年前做過白內障手術后一直視力良好，不過眼睛不能看陽光;另外，他的思維也很敏捷。

他說希望能活到125歲。

他表示，長壽的關鍵在于睡眠良好、早起、飲食健康、攝入維生素和工作。

他每天早晨5點半起床，享用香蕉蘋果思慕雪、燕麥和兩個雞蛋，以此開啟新的一天。然后，他就出門去照看雞崽。

“我祈求上帝多給他一些年月，讓他活到盡興?！彼呐畠和旭R薩說。

“有時候他說感覺自己的能量在一點點耗盡，但我不這樣認為。他還充滿著活力，對此我也很高興?！?/p>

（譯者單位：復旦大學）