Talk:Polygonum multiflorum

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[edit] Taxobox

Article needs a taxobox. Badagnani 22:06, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Done. Badagnani 20:10, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Characters

Article needs Chinese characters for "fo ti." Badagnani 20:10, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanx

Thanx at all for expanding my article; I know my stub has been poor. I like Burke's Peerage 15:19, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Longetivity

Info can be added to Longevity claims and Longevity myths.

Li Ch'ing Yuen was born in 1678, during the reign of K'ang Hsi of the Manchu dynasty [Qing Dynasty]. His birthplace was Kuei-Chou province, in the mountainous regions of southwest China. He later moved to Szechuan province.

By profession, Li Ch'ing Yuen was an herbalist. There is a story of how he came by this trade. One day, when he was a boy of eleven playing in his village, he met three traveling herbalists. They came from distant places, one from Kiang-shi, the others from the northeast provinces. The talk of these strangers interested Li Ch'ing Yuen very much, and he decided to travel with them and learn the art of medicinal herbs. He and his teachers journeyed in high mountains, through Shensi Kansu, Sinkiang, Manchuria Heilongjiang, Tibet, Annam, and Siam. Sometimes they encountered dangerous situations, such as meeting with lions, tigers, and poisonous snakes. But, Li Ch'ing Yuen learned from the skill and experience of his teachers to overcome these and other difficulties. They walked quickly, like monkeys. Once, when Li Ch'ing Yuen was collecting herbs, he met another herbalist who would walk much more quickly than he. Of course, Li Ch'ing Yuen wanted to know how this man could move so fast. The herbalist told him that every day he ate one-third ounce [3 qian] of lycium gouqizi. Li Ch'ing Yuen began doing the same, and he became much more vigorous. He married 14 times successively, and lived to see 180 descendants covering 11 generations.

At the age of 130, while traveling in the K'ung-T'ung mountains, Li Ch'ing Yuen met a Taoist who was 500 years old. Li Ch'ing Yuen asked the old Taoist the secret of his longevity, and the Taoist taught him an exercise called Ba-Kua (eight trigrams) exercise, which is similar to T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

During his long life, Li Ch'ing Yuen had various occupations. He served as a soldier, sold medicinal herbs, and taught many disciples in the Oh-Mei mountains, Szechuan province. Many of his disciples were over a hundred years old. Some of the oldest men of the district could recall stories their grandfathers told them about Li Ch'ing Yuen. Even at 248 years of age, Master Li had good eyesight and a quick stride.

In 1927, General Yang Shen heard about the longevity of this marvelous man and invited Master Li to visit his seat of command in Wan-Shien. He later described Master Li in a book: "He can walk very quickly in the mountains, even though he's almost 250 years old. He is seven feet tall. His complexion is ruddy, but he is completely bald. His fingernails are very long. In one meal he eats three bowls of rice, chicken, and another kind of meat.

Master Li told Yang Shen that sometimes, while he was in the mountains collecting herbs, his provisions would run out. He would survive by eating herbs, especially ginseng, ho-shou-wu, and polygonatum [huangjiang].

Toward the end of his life, Master Li allowed himself to be photographed. Because of his fame, the eight-inch photo found a ready market. Yang Shen's envoy presented one of these photographs to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who asked to meet Master Li, but by the time Yang Shen located him, Master Li had died. The New York Times reported the death of this wonderful man in 1930. --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.8.70.33 (talk • contribs).

Where does all of this come from? Is this copied from somewhere? Badagnani 20:18, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

It comes from a story frequently attached to this herb. [1] The 1930 article needs to be verified, otherwise the whole thing is a myth. No one has been accurately recorded as living that long, but many people have claimed to. --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.8.70.33 (talk • contribs).

Well, I personaly didn't dare to quote the Li Ch'ing Yuen-story nevertheless I haven't got any doubs it is true in full. I like Burke's Peerage 08:50, 9 October 2006 (UTC) And: No, I'm not kidding. As the initiator of the lemma I knew pretty well I couldn't go like a bull at a gate. So I decided to let another one finde the key point of Polygonum multiflorum and long living. --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by I like Burke's Peerage (talk • contribs).

The claim still needs to be verified. Longevity claims has several people who claim to have lived nearly 130 years, while Oldest people has no one verified as living longer than 120 years. Someone needs to look in to the last part of the story that describes his popularity, meeting with Chian Kai-shek, and the New York Times report if it exists. --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.8.74.158 (talk • contribs).

Of course there are people verified to have lived longer than 120 years such as Jeanne Calment. Let's see, if we will find out more about people exceeding that span of life ... I like Burke's Peerage 14:42, 11 October 2006 (UTC)