The average life span of our ancestors was very short. According to experts' historical data, the average life expectancy of the ancients was around 30 years old, even before the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was only 35 years old.
This is related to the harsh natural conditions, lack of medical conditions, hard work, epidemic plague and frequent wars in ancient times. Even so, China ancient literati seems to be a special case. Among them, there are many people who live to be 80 or 90 years old or even over 100 years old.
According to the available data, the average life expectancy of ancient literati: during the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, there were 20 literati with clear records of birth and death, with an average life expectancy of 58.4 years. Among them, Confucius lived 73 years, Xunzi 74 years, Zhuangzi 83 years, Mencius 84 years, Mozi 92 years, and Fu Sheng in Han Dynasty 92 years. There were 79 people in Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, with an average life expectancy of 65.6 years. Sun Simiao, the drug king, lived 1, 4 1 year. Ou Yangxun, a European calligrapher handed down from ancient times, is 85 years old, and Liu Gongquan, the founder and great calligrapher of Liu Ti, is 88 years old. There were 82 people in Song Dynasty, with an average age of 65.6 years. Lu You, a poet who was too humble to forget his country, died at the age of 85. There were 29 people in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, with an average life expectancy of 67 years. Painter and calligrapher Huang died at the age of 85. There were 77 people in the Ming Dynasty, with an average age of 64. Leng Qian, who was good at melody, died at 150, and was a "four gifted scholars in Wuzhong".
One of them, Wen Zhiming, lived to be 90 years old; There were 126 people in Qing dynasty, with an average age of 63.4 years. Huang Zongxi, known as the father of China's enlightenment, died at the age of 85. Ding Yao, the representative of Tongcheng School, is 84 years old, Liu Dahuai is 83 years old and Fang Bao is 865,438+0 years old. From this, we can easily see that the average life expectancy of ancient literati is about twice that of the ancients.
Why did these literati in ancient China live longer than ordinary people? Lu believes that there are three reasons: good cultivation and attaching importance to feelings. Self-cultivation can cultivate sexual desire, reading can make people happy, and of course it can also relieve boredom. Ancient literati took saints as models, and their mentality was superior to that of ordinary people. Many times, they can maintain a quiet and peaceful state of mind, which can be said to be spiritual enrichment. In behavior, pursuing the golden mean, doing things peacefully, and being tepid are of great help to health; Second, there is perseverance and indomitable character. Thus, it also endowed the ancient literati with tenacious vitality. The book has its own golden house in Yan Ruyu's book, and the guiding ideology of learning to be excellent and be an official has locked the life goal for ancient literati, thus cultivating their indomitable character and constantly honing their psychological endurance. There are many ancient people who are still studying hard for fame in recent years. This spirit and perseverance enable them to endure injustice and let go of unhappiness; Third, diligent and thoughtful. Using your brain frequently is good for your health. Literati naturally use a lot of brains, brain cells are full of vitality, and aging naturally slows down. Only those who are physically and mentally healthy can live long.
It can be seen that the personality and attitude of ancient literati are important factors for their longevity. Of course, there were also many gifted scholars among the ancient literati, who died young in the prime of their lives, which made people lament. This is also closely related to their personality defects and attitudes.