Long life (China)

 

I was forwarded a couple of features about two ladies aged over a hundred years old, which then reminds me of an article I'd read in China Pictorial (中国画报 / Zhōngguó Huàbào, a photo magazine with more pictures than text) in 1978 by a Chinese journalist who went to a remote mountain village in China.

    There was only one road in, the same road out, so they were isolated, i.e., hardly any contact with the outside world (therefore, not that much stress).  They grew (and lived on) mainly millet and veg, with some tobacco, and ate meat very occasionally.

    A high proportion of the villagers were over 60, with a high proportion of that group being over 80, and some of the over-80s were more than 100.  

    The journalist interviewed two of those in the last category:  

* a woman (103 or something) who stayed at home to cook lunch for the family and care for the youngest generation (great great grandchildren) while the members of the three generations in between (children, grandchildren, great grandchildren) went out to the fields to work.

* an old man who was still working in the fields, aged 108(?).  There was a photo of him, leaning against his hoe, with a long thin Chinese pipe in one hand, smoking home-grown tobacco.

Journalist:  How long have you been smoking?

Old man:  85 years.

    The journalist said the lack of stress must be the biggest factor for their long life.  (Maybe not eating that much meat either?)  I would agree.

    I've since (about a decade ago) seen YouTube videos showing Chinese tourists flocking to a village (or several?) for the high percentage of their members living to a ripe old age, so it seems to be a phenomenon that's still around.  Yes, their living conditions looked a bit time frozen, which might be a factor.

    Maybe these days, "ripe old age" would be over 90 rather than over 80 as people tend to live longer nowadays.

(China, 1970s)

Isolated mountain village (China)

In 1978 when I first went to SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), I came across a mainland Chinese publication called China Pictorial (中国画报 Zhōngguó Huàbào), a magazine that has more pictures than words (photojournalism as we’d call it).

    In one of the issues, there was a piece by a Chinese journalist who went to a mountain village.

    It had one road in and out, therefore little contact with the outside world.  Surrounded on all three sides by mountains.

    Main diet was millet, vegetables, and the occasional meat. 

    The journalist went there because a high percentage of the population there were over 65.  Of those over 65, there were quite a few over 80.  Of the over 80s, there were some over 100.

    The journalist interviewed two members of the older ones.

    One was a woman aged 103 or something who stayed at home to look after the youngest generation while the three generations in between (children, grandchildren, great grandchildren) went out to work in the fields.  She also cooked lunch for them (maybe even dinner, as they would be tired after working out in the fields all day).

    The other person interviewed was an old man aged 105 or something.  He was photographed out in his field, leaning against his hoe, with a Chinese pipe (long and thin, very small bowl), filled with homegrown tobacco.  

    The journalist asked him, “How long have you been a smoker?”

    The old man said, “85 years.”

    So, it was not the smoking but the lack of stress, the journalist said.  And the healthy diet.

(China, 1978)