Well yes, for the Chinese “live longer without
aging” 長生不老 changsheng bulao, has been
awidespread yearning since ancient times and
premature death was considered one of the worst
misfortunes.
In the Chinese restaurants, also here in Italy,
you can always find auspicious formulas engraved
on the chopsticks: 祿福壽宜康 lu, fu, shou yi kang“remuneration, happiness, longevity and good
health”.
Everywhere, embedded in
wall decorations, twinkling on dishes, these characters
appear: 福 fu – happiness/good luck; 雙喜 shuangxi –
double happiness, a good omen to newly weds; 壽 shou
– longevity, a good omen to the elderly.
Maybe also for this
reason the Chinese used to greet the emperor
with the formula: 萬歲萬歲萬萬嵗
Wan sui, wan sui, wan
wan sui! “Ten Thousand years, ten thousand
years!”. A formula also used in Japan: Banzai! –
“ten thousand years” – that after the Second
World War gained a not very positive undertone
in the West, just like the word Kamikaze – “wind
of the gods” – originally the typhoon that in
the XIII century destroyed the
Chinese-Mongolian-Korean fleet when it tried to
invade the land of the rising sun.
In the Chinese
temples the record of longevity regards the
trees. Whereas the architectural structures are
often touched up, built again or completely
redone throughout the years, the trees, if they
reach a certain age, are lovingly cared for and
worshipped, because they are living witnesses of
the time and the glorious events. You can often
see Chinese visitors almost ignore architecture
to stop and admire the age-old trees and pose
for lively photos; shou ru nanshan zhi song
壽如南山之松 “long-lived as a pine tree of the
southern mountains” – is a sentence that is
often the object of wonderful calligraphic
masterpieces given as a good omen to the
elderly.
In China everything
seethes with symbols of longevity and
immortality, that in Chinese are only one word: shou “long life”; among the animals especially
the crane (鶴 he), the tortoise (龜 gui) and the
deer (鹿 lu). Poor Chinese tortoises! Carrying on
their backs a round shell like the vault of
heaven and on their stomachs a flat slab like
the earth, they were considered sacred animals
and as such used for sacrifices and divinations,
besides tasty strengthening and healthy soups,
capable of ensuring, obviously… a long life! The
tortoise, according to the Chinese, can live a
thousand years… if the chefs allow it!
Why is the tortoise
long-lived and the hare not? Because the tortoise is
slow and the hare fast. Speed quickly wears out the
vital energy (氣 qi), for this reason the researchers of
long life breathe like the tortoise: slow, thin, deep
and continuous, in order to nourish and keep their vital
energy. The technique of “vital nourishment” (養生 yangsheng) has ancient roots in China. Archaeological
traces witness it since 350 b.C.
“Breathing in
and breathing out, inhaling and blowing
according to different methods absorb the pure
qi in order to expel the turbid one. They
stretch like birds and shrug like bears, they’re
the Daoyin followers, people who nourish the
shape in order to achieve longevity by emulating
the old Pengzu”.
This way spoke
Zhuangzi 莊子, a Taoist philosopher of the IV
century b.C. Certainly the legend of the old
Peng 彭祖 and his seven hundred years greatly
fascinated both the Chinese and the Taoist
alchemists who, trying to extract the essence of
the elixir of life, casually discovered alcohol:
one more Chinese contribution to the world’s
gastronomic culture. Grappa wasn’t a very useful
means to accomplish immortality, but on the
other hand gave pleasant moments and
extraordinary poems: the great poet Li Bai 李白
drowned because, while drunk, he tried to cuddle
the moon reflected in the lake’s water.
Many were the methods the Chinese developed in order to
ensure their longevity: calligraphy, meditation,
dietetics, acupuncture, pharmacopoeia, martial arts.
Regulate the breathing, control the mind, direct the
body, practice postures that benefit the right
circulation of vital energy, these are still nowadays as
in the times of Zhuangzi the methods of Daoyin 導引 (also
known as Qigong 氣功), the best discipline to keep healthy
and lengthen life.
Fabio Smolari Graduated at the Faculty of Oriental (Chinese)
Languages and Literature at the University of Venice,
awarded with the diploma in Qigong by the Peking's ISEF,
he's President of the Daoyin Yangsheng Gong - Italia
Association and secretary of the European Daoyin
Federation. He's been devoting himself since many years
in the research and in the diffusion of chinese culture,
with particular reference to the body techniques. He has
taken part to various meetings and seminars and
cooperates with national and international magazines; he
teaches Taijiquan, Qigong, Chinese language and the art
of tea.
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