256 Year Old Chinese Herbalist Li Ching-Yuen, Holistic Medicine, and 15 Character Traits That Cause Diseases

Li Ching-Yuen was a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and tactical advisor who lived to the ripe old age of 256 and sired 200 descendants during his life span, surviving 23 wives. Ching-Yuen lived off a diet of herbs and rice wine inculding lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shou wu and gotu kola. In a 1930 New York Times article, Professor Wu Chung-chieh of the University of Chengdu discovered Imperial Chinese government records from 1827, congratulating one Li Ching-Yuen on his 150th birthday, and further documents later congratulating him on his 200th birthday in 1877 (Wikipedia, 2013).
Li Ching-Yuen expressed his longevity formula in one sentence: "Retain a calm heart, sit like a turtle, walk swiftly like a pigeon, and sleep like a dog". Let's add a few more interesting historical facts to this story. Chinese army general Yang Sen invited Li to visit him, and offered him an opportunity to teach Chinese soldiers martial arts. The general could not believe how youthful his guest was, even though he had reached an age of 250 years old. Li Ching-Yuen died on the 6th of May in 1933. He told his students that he had completed all his tasks in this lifetime, and he was now ready to come home. It is possible to find other interesting stories about Western health prodigies and Eastern Yogis who lived for over 100 years. Not only did they survive for this long, they also thrived—youthful, active, and full of enthusiasm. What could we learn from them?