250 year old man?

[Bastet]

my sifu showed me a book the other day (by Dr Yang Jwing-Ming) about chi gung. In the first cople of pages there is a man named Li Ching-Yuen who reportedly lived to 250 years of age (1678 - 1928)!! He outlived 14 wives because of his use of herbs & chi gung.... His wisdom & knowledge would be so great - he would be a walking history book!

What do you think?? Dr Yang Jwing-Ming is a very respected teacher - do you believe this story? Do you think this is POSSIBLE?? With all our advances in science & medicine, why are people still dying before they even get to 100? Would you like to live to 250 years old? Is this guy just a freak of nature? Why havent the great kung fu masters lived even half this long?

I would like to see what would happen in the world during 250 years - but wouldnt like to see all of my friends and family (even my grandchildren, great grandchildren?) die before me. What would quality of life be like at 250 years old?

Lots of questions - I know :) Looking forward to everyones replies...

http://flowerkitty.tripod.com/smile/bee.gif

blessed be,
a.

[Shaolin Master]

Li Ching Yuen is a true individual and is from the Emei Shan School of arts, he was a practitioner of Baguazhang amongst other things including Qigong and TCM. Emei Shan is very deep in its Qigong and internal theories, it has a treasure house of beauty unbeknown by many.

Regards
Nice Smiley how did you do that ? :)

Shi Chan Long

[8stepsifu]

At the highest levels of Tai Chi, you can decide the second of your death, say goodbye and lights out.

Its not entirely unique there are some African guys that can do the same thing.

I'd say the story is likely exagerated, but I guess I believe it just as much as I don't believe it, anything is possible. I guess 8 Step Master Chiang Hua Long living to 106 back in the day was pretty amazing. Just check out Genesis. People were living 900 years. Who am I to call these ancient people liars? After all, knowlege isn't progressive and linear. The pendulum swing back and forth through the ages. To quote Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the Sun

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

[lungyuil]

the mind and body are amazing, anything is possible.people can will themselves to live or die. i think if people can live to 100yrs while not looking after their bodies these days then i am sure there are people we don't know of that are living longer. :)

[Kevin73]

The life span of a human is around 150 yrs. old, but the life expectancy is about half that.

Anything is possible I guess, it could have been one of those things where you saw the upper limits as opposed to the normal range of age. Like that disease where you age about a decade for every year. So you die at about 7 and look 70.

"There are many who talk of the Way, but few who walk the Way."

[qeySuS]

8step i hear Native Australiens (the ones before the english that is) Can do the same (that is decide when to die)

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[lungyuil]

Qeysus,
it is Australians and yes i think the older generation of aborigines have the ability to dictate when to die. It is more meditation and freeing your spirit than anything else. :)

[jutsow]

if you guys believe this i have some beachfront property in arizona for you. and who says yang jwing ming is a highly respected martial artist. just because someone wrote a book doesnt mean they know everything, and just because something is in a book doesnt mean its true. look at mein kemph :(

[Buddy]

Come on, this bull**** was debunked by the Chinese years ago. Biff Painter uses this crap in his ads as well. If it sounds too good to be true...
Buddy

[GLW]

Buddy,

you have obviously been around a while....Not too many people will refer to Painter by the name Biff anymore... :)

What dealings have you had with him?

[TaoBoxer]

I took one of John Painters seminars and I was impressed with his skill. He is a professional and trains every day....so of course he is skilled.

As for his claims of the founder of his family system living to be over 100, it was published in the Ba Gua journal that that incident, covered by Ripleys Believe it or Not was a fraud, as stated by the New York Times. Mr Painter states however that certain members of the community have personal issues with him and try to discredit him.

As for the name Biff....he told me that is part of his real name, and it is on his birth certificate.

[TaoBoxer]

I have also been told by my teachers that because Longevity and age was so well respected in China that the older you were, the larger the stipend the government paid out to you. It was not uncommon therefore to have people assume another persons identity (and age) after they died. If a. 80 year old man dies and his 65 year old cousin takes his place......and he lives another 20 or 30 years...and someone does the same to him....you can see how many 120 year olds there would be all over the countryside.

[Bastet]

some interesting stuff there.

but nobody has mentioned whether or not they would like to live to 250.....

is longevity one of the reasons you do martial arts? or is it something you havent given much thought to?

blessed be,
a.

[Kevin73]

Just thought I'd throw this in for sh*ts and giggles. In Coldwater, Michigan by where I live a lady just turned 114. Other than looking like yoda, she looked fairly good.

"There are many who talk of the Way, but few who walk the Way."

[jediman]

Guiness has the oldest living person is 122. A man in Kentucky just died at the ripe ol' age of 120. Man.

[kungfu cowboy]

Woo-hoo! Nothin' like being old for 60 years! What a gas! Yoda sure is a hottie!

[kwang]

Actually its not really possible, I read a study conducted by some univeristy, Im not sure which one :op but it said that after about 200 years the human brain is so decayed that you would be like a vegetable :op though maybe the 250 year old man found some herb that preserved the brain, who knows? Anything is possible =o)


Kwang

Kwang

[kwang]

I was wondering where "blessed be" came from. It sounds familiar but I cant place where it came from =)


Kwang

Kwang

[8stepsifu]

whats easier....to say he lived that long or to actually do it. I think the story is mythical.

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

[Bastet]

8 step sifu - with your theories on chi & health i would have thought you would be more open to something like this. im not saying it would be easy, it would obviously take a lot of effort & knowledge.

one of those things, that we will never know what the real story is, i think.

actually, now that you mention it Kevin - this gut DID look a little like yoda. how old was yoda by the way?

blessed be - its a wiccan thing, a bit like saying take care.

blessed be,
a.

[kwang]

thats why it was familiar, I used to have some wiccan friends,I moved away tho.


Kwang

Kwang

[GreyMystik]

"when 900 years old YOU reach, look this good you will not!"
-Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

[NorthernMantis]

but this person did not study chi kung or kung fu to help extend his life

"Always be ready"

[ddh]

The oldest Qi gong master that I know is 103 years old. She lives in Beijing and is master of Taiyun (Wild goose) Qi gong. As for living 250 years, that's pretty impressive! I wonder if someone would really want to live that long? If a person had the energies to prolong life to that extent, it seems to me, they would be able to had created the golden child and would be able to live on a different level without the gross body. Any thoughts on this?

[Shaolin Temple]

Rubbish. The neurological pathways undergo plasticity and is replaceable as new studies in the British Medical journal of 1989 have shown.
Brahmi juice is used extensively in China and India and is now the latest craze in neurosurgery for its ability to stimulate dormant brain cells. This is a herb known to the Chinese and Indians for over 2000 years...who said that this 250 year old didn't use it.

As a matter of fact, I have several patients who have visited this man's house. It is now a tourist attraction. You will see the certificates given and written by different court officials and emperors who witnessed this man and a document of prove for his so-called birthdays.

Amitabh

[joedoe]

The story I heard about this guys was that while he did not necessarily practice Qigong, he did utilise Taoist health techings extensively.

I also heard that his identity was verified by Western sources. Dunno how true this is.

Interesting tale though. Does it make you wonder what it would be like to live through that much history?

[TigerFork]

i'd heard this guy took herbs incl. gotu kola (centella asiatica), did a lot of meditation and walked (gently) a lot. dunno if it's true

[Mojo]

I heard that he invented and practiced an early form of Tae-bo.

[Rory]

His books are crap they give bad information. I mean its tells you that by doing the iron crotch techiniques you will become immortal. As for the 250 year old guy I dont no the oldest martial arts person I know of is a man that taught Jet li Wustyle tai chi he taught jet li when he was 99 and continued on to when he was 107 then he died.

[Fu-Pow]

If you look at statistics: What gets most people is cancer. As you age your risk for cancer increases. By the time your 100 if you don't have some sort of cancer then you are in some exceptional group. At 120 it is even more exceptional. Sad but true. Want to increase your life expectancy give money to cancer research...... :eek:

I'm curious about Yang Jwing-Ming as well. A Phd. in physics doesn't make you martial arts expert. Then again it doesn't mean that you aren't. Anyone got personal experience with this guy?

Fu-Pow
http://www.makskungfu.com/images/Graphics/logo.gif
"If you are talking about sport that is one thing. But when you are talking about combat-as it is-well then, baby, you'd better train every part of your body" - Bruce Le :confused:

[Internal Flow]

It is also said that Lao Tze lived 2000 years.
It is also said that great taoists could and can fly between the clouds.
Someone can believe what ever he wants.

All things return to it as to their home, but it does not lord it over them.
Thus it may be called "The Great"

[DarkKnight]

If you belive that, then you are very gulable.
And please don't bring up the bible as a point in an intelligent conversation because the bible is a fairy tale, written by men to deceive a primitive culture. If you want to use it as an ethical metaphor than that is fine, but to use it as an actual historic reference is comical.

[Internal Flow]

Sorry about asking, but, are you completely idiot?
Where did you see the relationship between the bible and the traditions of China?
Where did i use those legends as an "actual historic reference"?
Who told you i believe them?
Maybe you dont know read and write? I think thats the problem.

All things return to it as to their home, but it does not lord it over them.
Thus it may be called "The Great"

[JasBourne]

I think he was referring to 8stepsifu's post about the bible story of Methusela living to be 900 years old.

[origenx]

fu-pow - save your money. These american cancer research groups are all just looking for some (patentable & mass-producable) magic bullet. Frankly, they're barking up the wrong tree and are totally misguided. If they only spent a fraction of the billions they've sucked down on wholistic research instead, they'd have found something by now...

[prana]

Some yogins believes that the body has a finite number of breathes. Some yogins are able to choose when they die (within limits) by withelding their breaths (or slowing) till a more auspiciuous date. That however, does not mean another 50 years :)

$0.02

Medicine Buddha
om namo bhagawate hekandzyai - guru bendurya prabha andzaya - tatagataya - arhate - samyaksam buddhaya - tayata om bhekandzyai bhekandzyai - maha bhekandzyai bhekandzyai -randza samungate soha

[vegeta]

ok they might live that long but no matta what u cant escape death!
wen death comes ur FUKED!

to have no limitation as a limitation (Bruce Lee)

[bearpaw]

Check out:
http://www.walford.com

[denali]

How is it possible to know that you prolonged your life? How can a man know that he would have died earlier if he had not done something? It's impossible to know. Sometimes people who smoke their entire lives live to 100. It's hard to know why.

How could a person know that they could choose the moment of their death? And..how would an outsider know that that person chose it? It's also impossible to know. Once a person dies, he probably won't come back and tell everyone that it was his choice...

something to think about

[Fish of Fury]

if you give up smoking,drinking and sex you don't live longer...it just seems like it!

__________________________________________________ _________________________ "I'm just trying to lull you into a genuine sense of security!"

[Lost_Disciple]

don't forget anything that tastes good! ;)

Just some thoughts from an ignoramus.

[Fish of Fury]

"How could a person know that they could choose the moment of their death? And..how would an outsider know that that person chose it?"

i've got no idea how valid these claims are but there's one point i'd like to make.if i told you i was gonna die at 7pm on thursday and i did, i guess you'd have to consider the possibility i chose the moment of my own death.
that's basically what happens in many of the traditional zen stories about masters chosing their time of death.

aw,crap.i hope i don't die at 7pm on thursday now.
:(
hmmmm...can we make that the last thursday of Dec. 3546 ?(until further notice!)

__________________________________________________ _________________________ "I'm just trying to lull you into a genuine sense of security!"

[denali]

yep.. that makes sense.

but i wonder if a person could choose the moment of their own death, do they also have the ability to not die? i mean to be immortal. i guess i'm curious as to what the reasons would be why these masters choose to die instead of living.. does it say anything about that in the stories?

[joedoe]

Everyone has to leave this life someday.

cxxx[]:::::::::::>
What we do in life echoes in Eternity

[Fish of Fury]

yeah, to me the point of many of the stories is the acceptance of their mortality, so when it's "their time" the shuffle off this mortal coil with no fuss, like walking through a door to another room.
they don't just drop dead on cue as a party trick (although that would be kinda cool...you just wouldn't be able to do it very often :) )

__________________________________________________ _________________________ "I'm just trying to lull you into a genuine sense of security!"

[denali]

I wonder then if the ability is more the knowledge of when one would die.. instead the ability to die at will.

Hmmm....

[deelee]

Maybe these masters choose to die because they've come to some sort of realisation about the after-life. Maybe after living so long they've become enlightened and know all of the secrets of the universe and realise that it's better to be dead than alive.
When someone earlier said how come all of the 'real' kung fu masters choose to die early, I was just wondering, how do you know they're true kung fu masters?How do you judge whether someone is a real kung fu master and who are we to judge?Surely only a real kung fu master would know another true master?
Danny Lee