Chinese Secrets of Longevity 中國人的長壽奧秘

約翰·穆珠瑟圖博士 譯/陳天怡

Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.

—Betty Friedman

老去并不意味著韶華已逝，而是邁入充滿機會與力量的新階段。

——貝蒂·弗里德曼

The famous English philosopher， Francis Bacon once said; ‘I will never be an old man. To me， old age is always 15 years older than I am’. To live longer is everybody’s ambition. More and more people around the world are becoming centenarians1. China is famous for its largest percentage of centenarians. There is a famous village in China known as the ‘longevity village’. Several studies have been conducted to unravel the Chinese secrets of health and longevity.

A Chinese man who lived 256 years！

In 1930， New York Times reported in an article about a Chinese martial art expert and herbalist， Li Ching Yuen2 who was believed to have lived for more than two and a half centuries. It was in 1933 he died. He was claimed to be born in 1677， even though there was no verifiable records. Anyway it was evident that he lived an extraordinary long life， perhaps the longest period， with vitality and vigor. So it is interesting and inspiring to know more about his life and the secrets of his unusual longevity.

Li Ching Yuen led an active and enthusiastic life. He used to travel a lot for collecting rare herbs like ginseng， lingzhi， gogiberry， gotukola3 etc from the mountain ranges of China. His vast knowledge of herbs and their medicinal properties might have helped him to use them regularly for enhancing his health and longevity. He also used to eat wild and fresh mushrooms to boost his energy level.

Li was a firm believer in exercises. He learned qigong exercise and breathing techniques from an old hermit. He believed that it was his herbal diet and regular exercise and breathing techniques which helped him to live for such an unusually long period with perfect health and well being4.

It was in 1749， at the age of 71， Li joined the Chinese army as a martial art instructor. He was leading a very active and enthusiastic life even after his retirement from army. He continued his business of gathering and selling herbs of various kinds.

Li was highly respected and loved by the people in his village and community. It was reported that he married 23 times and had about 200 children. The Chinese government celebrated his 200th birthday in 1877. During the occasion of the birthday celebrations he was asked about the secret of his unbelievable longevity and health. For that he replied; ‘Keep a quiet heart， sit like a tortoise， walk sprightly5 like a pigeon6 and sleep like a dog’. Time magazine honored him by publishing a lead article7 about him titled ‘Tortoise Pigeon Dog’ in its 1933， May 15th issue， quoting his wise words revealing the secret of his amazing long life.

Li had disclosed that his inner peace， tranquil and stress-free mind， regular physical and breathing exercise and a herbal diet might have helped him to live such a long life with vibrant health， vigor， and vitality. This reminds us the wise words of Sai Bhabha8， an Indian hermit; ‘the secret of perfect health is keeping the mind always cheerful; never worried， never hurried and never bored’.

Longevity secrets from China

An American cardiologist， John Day visited China to study about the Chinese health secrets. During his study he came to know about Bapan village which was popularly known as the Longevity Village. It was a remote Chinese village without any of the modern amenities9. There were not even hospitals and doctors. But the villagers were amazingly healthy， exuberant and lived longer. The village had the highest percentage of centenarians in the world.

Dr. Day conducted scientific probes about the health and longevity secrets of the villagers and the centenarians. He also co-authored a book named The Longevity Plan： Seven Life Transforming Lessons from Ancient China.

Dr. Day identified seven secrets of longevity from the Bapan village of centenarians.

1. A diet consisting mostly of fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables， roots， legumes10 and nuts. Bapan villagers eat meat rarely and fish frequently.

2. Warm and strong social connections， helping and respecting each other. Social support system is very strong there.

3. A positive， happy and optimistic attitude about life， believing in a better tomorrow.

4. Moving without sitting still. Bapan villagers go out and do hand farming in the fields and move around regularly. They are physically active throughout the day.

5. A regular and disciplined routine. They wake up early， eat and go to bed at the same time every day. They live in harmony with the natural circadian rhythm11.

6. Clean and pure environment. Bapan village is so isolated and free of modern contaminants like pesticides and other chemicals. They are blessed with clean air， pure water， organic fresh fruits and vegetables.

7. Being passionate and interested in something meaningful， even in the old age. Everybody wakes up enthusiastically in the morning with a plan and goal in mind.

Dr. Day found that Bapan villagers were having a deep connection to nature， to earth， to family， to friends and to community. This is a great positive factor for their health and long life.

Longevity factors

Some believe that longevity is dependent on the genetic factors. But the modern researches have shown that we are not the prisoners of our DNA but can be the masters of our longevity. A research conducted in 3000 identical twins12 proved that the genetic factor in longevity is only 25% and the balance 75% depends on our life style. So your health and longevity is in your hands. As the famous Japanese artist Yok Ono13 aptly pointed out; ‘There is a long life ahead of you and it’s going to be beautiful as long as you keep loving and hugging each other’.

英國著名哲學家弗朗西斯·培根曾說：“我永遠不會老。于我而言，離老年總是還差15歲。”每個人都希望活得久一些。世界各地的百歲老人也越來越多。中國尤以百歲老人占比最大而聞名。中國有個知名的村莊被稱為“長壽村”。人們開展了多項研究，試圖解開中國人健康長壽的奧秘。

活了256年的中國人！

1930年，《紐約時報》專文報道了一位名叫李慶遠的中國武術家和中醫師，人們相信他已經活了超過兩個半世紀。李慶遠于1933年離世。據傳他生于1677年，不過沒有記錄可考。無論如何，他顯然度過了格外長壽——或許無人能出其右——且充滿生機與活力的一生。多多了解他的生活和擁有超凡壽命的奧秘因而既有趣又有啟發性。

李慶遠對待生活積極熱情，曾在中國廣泛游歷，采集山間的人參、靈芝、枸杞、積雪草等稀有草藥。憑借自己所掌握的有關草藥及其藥性的豐富知識，他定期服用草藥以達到強身健體、延年益壽的目的。他還經常食用新鮮的野生菌菇補充精力。

李慶遠深信鍛煉的益處。他從一位老隱士那里習得了氣功和吐納技巧。他認為，自己能比一般人更長久地保持身心極佳的狀態，就是食用藥膳、定期鍛煉和練習吐納的功勞。

1749年，71歲高齡的李慶遠作為武術指導參了軍。退役后，他依然積極熱情地生活，繼續采集售賣各種草藥。

李慶遠深受村民和當地人的愛戴。據報道，他結了23次婚，有大約200個孩子。中國政府于1877年為他舉辦了200歲大壽。他如此健康長壽，實在不可思議，賀壽期間有人問他秘訣，他回答道：“心靜，坐如龜，行如雀，睡如狗。” 1933年5月15日出刊的《時代》雜志發表了一篇題為“龜雀狗”的封面文章緬懷李慶遠，文中引用了他揭示自己長壽秘訣的智言慧語。

李慶遠曾透露，他之所以能夠長壽且保持活力與健康，或許得益于內心平和、靜無雜念、經常鍛煉、練習吐納和服食藥膳。這令人想起了印度隱士賽巴巴的智言慧語：“健康的奧秘在于保持心情愉悅;切勿憂慮、慌張和煩悶。”

中國的長壽奧秘

美國心臟病學家約翰·戴曾到訪中國，研究中國人的健康之道。研究期間，他了解到巴盤屯是廣為人知的“長壽村”。這個偏遠的中國村莊沒有任何現代化設施，甚至沒有醫院和醫生，但村民格外健康長壽、精力旺盛，百歲老人占比世界最高。

戴博士通過科學研究探索巴盤屯村民和百歲老人健康長壽的奧秘。他還與人合著了《長壽計劃：中國養生七古訓》一書。

戴博士認為巴盤屯的百歲老人有七大長壽秘訣。

1. 飲食以新鮮有機果蔬、根莖、豆類和堅果為主。巴盤屯村民很少食紅肉而多食魚類。

2. 人際關系溫暖而牢固，人人互尊互助。巴盤屯當地的社會支持體系十分強大。

3. 積極、愉快、樂觀地對待人生，相信明天會更好。

4. 喜動不喜靜。巴盤屯村民日常外出到農田勞作，經常四處走動。他們基本上全天都在活動。

5. 作息規律，生活自律。村民每天同一時間早起、吃飯、睡覺，遵循自然的生物鐘。

6. 環境干凈清新。巴盤屯與世隔絕，免于農藥等現代化學物質的污染，盡享潔凈的空氣、純凈的水源和有機新鮮果蔬。

7. 擁有有意義的愛好和興趣，即使晚年也不例外。所有人早上醒來時都充滿熱情，心中有計劃和目標。

戴博士發現，巴盤屯的村民與大自然、土地、家族、朋友和社群都有著深刻的聯系，這對于健康長壽具有重要的積極作用。

長壽因素

一些人認為壽命是由遺傳因素決定的，但現代研究表明，我們并非DNA的囚徒，而可以成為自身壽命的主人。一項針對3000個同卵雙胞胎的研究證明，遺傳因素僅決定了壽命的25%，剩余75%則取決于生活方式。因此，你的健康和壽命掌握在你自己手中。恰如日裔著名藝術家小野洋子所說：“前路漫漫，只要一直相愛、擁抱彼此，就能收獲美好的人生?！? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □