Li Ching Yun had an advice for living a long life: "Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog" - and apparently, he followed his own advice, because Li died at a ripe old age of 256!
Environmental Graffiti has the story:
By his own admission he was born in 1736 and had lived 197 years. However, in 1930 a professor and dean at Minkuo University by the name of Wu Chung-chien, found records “proving” that Li was born in 1677. Records allegedly showed that the Imperial Chinese Government congratulated him on his 150th and 200th Birthdays.
Do you think we're all retarded or something?
It doesn't have to be true.
It doesn't have to be real.
It just has to be NEAT.
hence the name NEATorama.
I found this story very interesting, personally, even thought I doubt its validity.
(How DO tortoises sit, btw?)
It would be kind of creepy that the guy died at an age that is a factor of 2, specifically 2^8. Does that mean the metaphoical counter on human life only goes up to 8 bits (think binary)?
That would quite interesting!
There are hundreds of accounts of pre "modern world" Chinese monks and ascetics with remarkable physical accomplishments. Are they all true? No. Are some of them true? Absolutely.
However, it is somewhat neat.