Life Wisdom of Several Long-Lived Elders Aged Over 110

On April 2, 2024, Juan Mora, a Venezuelan elder, died at the age of 114. He was the world's oldest living male certified by Guinness World Records in 2022—since women live longer on average than men, he is also the oldest male known worldwide. Mora was born on May 27, 1909, in Tachira State, Venezuela, the ninth child in his family. At the age of five he began farming with his father and older brothers, helping to harvest sugarcane and coffee.

In interviews before his death, Mora said the secret of his longevity was going to bed early, balancing work and rest, and a small daily drink. Mora and his wife of 60 years had 11 children, 41 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and at least 12 great-great-grandchildren. His wife had died in 1997.

On January 17, 2023, the world's oldest living person, the French nun Andre, died in Toulon, France, at the age of 118. Andre was born in 1904 and did not retire until she was 108. She devoted her life to public service, working for 31 years at a hospital in Vichy, France; after retirement she lived in a nursing home.

Andre always called on the world to help and love one another and cast aside hatred, saying that only then would everything become better. Her life was full of vitality; although she went blind in old age, she maintained a very optimistic outlook.

On April 19, 2022, Kane Tanaka, recognized as the world's oldest living person, died in Fukuoka, Japan, at the age of 119. Tanaka was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1903; in March 2019 she was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person (male and female combined), and in September 2020 she broke the verified record for the longest-lived person in Japanese history.

Tanaka said the secret of her longevity was "good food and study." She liked cola and chocolate, and in her later years at a nursing home in Fukuoka City she often did calculations and played Othello. Tanaka is the least disputed world's oldest person known to date. Previously, France's Jeanne Louise Calment was said to have lived 122 years and 164 days, but some researchers believe this record may have been faked, because after Calment died her daughter may have continued living under her name.

On January 14, 2017, the renowned Chinese scholar Zhou Youguang died at the age of 112. Zhou Youguang was born on January 13, 1906; he was the father of Chinese Pinyin and spent most of his life in academic research and writing. In his early years he suffered from depression, but later recovered through his own efforts and became extraordinarily open-minded and optimistic. He also underwent major surgery in his sixties. Zhou Youguang met with many setbacks and blows in life, and his family fortune was wiped out several times, yet he took it all calmly.

Zhou Youguang left the most extensive written works of any of these centenarians over 110. The calm, openness and humor flowing through his writing are impressive; he wrote abundantly across many fields. His life story is detailed in his oral autobiography, Gone Years Like Water: Zhou Youguang's Hundred-Year Oral Memoir; interested readers may read it directly.

On July 29, 2010, the renowned Chinese chemist Professor Zheng Ji died at the age of 110. Professor Zheng Ji was a native of Nanxi, Sichuan, born on May 6, 1900. He graduated from the Biology Department of Central University (the predecessor of Nanjing University) in 1928, went to the United States to study in 1930, and after returning to China taught for a long time at the Medical School of Nanjing University.

Professor Zheng Ji was also prolific; several editions of the higher-education textbook General Chemistry in China were edited by him. In his later years he devoted himself to anti-aging and nutrition research, leaving many works on nutrition. Professor Zheng Ji also underwent major surgery in his sixties and nearly died. During the Cultural Revolution, Professor Zheng Ji, already in his eighties and nineties, was also severely persecuted, but this did not affect his positive and optimistic outlook.

In fact, another long-lived person is also worth mentioning: Su Yiran, a former member of the Central Advisory Commission. Although he lived only to 103, he was a gastric-cancer patient with a 44-year cancer history. He was diagnosed with gastric cancer at 59; after treatment he continued to do high-intensity work, and after his diagnosis served as Governor of Shandong Province and Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee.

Longevity has some relationship with environment. At present, the European microstate of Monaco has the most people over 100, followed by Japan; these two countries rank in the top two globally in life expectancy, showing that environment is related to longevity. But environment is not the sole determinant of lifespan. According to research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, human longevity is related to heredity, environment and lifestyle. Lifestyle plays an important role in the first 80 years of life, while after 80, genetic factors more influence one's health state.

The World Health Organization lists the four cornerstones of health as: a reasonable diet, moderate exercise, no smoking and limited alcohol, and psychological balance. These four health factors are all embodied in these longevity stars. Although these long-lived stars may not have had light life burdens and their experiences were rough, their sound psychological makeup and living habits let them remain positive and optimistic through all the storms of life.

After studying medicine for so many years, I have gradually come to a deep awareness of the narrowness of the various physical and mental diseases named by modern medicine. People should not be slapped with all kinds of disease labels. A state of disease is only a temporary state in life; a person is an integrated whole, and using the label of disease to split apart a person's wholeness violates the laws of nature. In a human life, anything is possible.

Hardship is only a temporary phenomenon, and it is often a major turning point in life; hardship promotes rapid growth. As the saying goes, rivers and mountains are easy to change but a person's inborn disposition is hard to move: without major adversity, a person can hardly improve the imperfections in his habits and cognition. In the biological world, surviving against all odds is a frequent occurrence; all living things evolve through the process of challenging hardship.

So do not fear disease, and do not fear difficulty. Conquer the cowardice and fear deep within your heart, strive against your physical and mental pain, and believe that anything is possible in the future.