Why doesn’t Guinness recognize so many 130-year-old elders in our country?
Remember: the secret to longevity is always to misreport your age. Back in the 1980s, there was a census. In that census, a large number of centenarians appeared—so many that even there were whole “centenarian villages.”
A survey team was sent to visit a 130-year-old man. The investigator asked, “How old is your son?” He said, “90.” The investigator asked, “How old is your grandson?” He said, “30.” The investigator then asked, “Did your son only give birth at age 60?” The old man began to stammer and couldn’t give a clear answer.
After visiting a few more, the investigator found that most centenarians were like this. They had no real concept of age. They thought, “I already have grandchildren, so I must be at least 100.” And the number 100 sounds auspicious, so they publicly claimed they were 100 years old. There was nothing else to do. At that time, the household registration system was not standardized—when the first wave registered their records, the police simply filled in whatever age they said.
Another situation is the kind seen in Bama’s longevity villages. Why are the villagers’ ages so high? Because there, elders aged 80 and above receive 30 yuan each month, while those aged 90 and above receive 50 yuan. To you, that money may not seem like much, but it’s enough to ensure the local elderly agree on a single story.
In short, it all comes down to self-interest.
Remember: the secret to longevity is always to misreport your age. Back in the 1980s, there was a census. In that census, a large number of centenarians appeared—so many that even there were whole “centenarian villages.”
A survey team was sent to visit a 130-year-old man. The investigator asked, “How old is your son?” He said, “90.” The investigator asked, “How old is your grandson?” He said, “30.” The investigator then asked, “Did your son only give birth at age 60?” The old man began to stammer and couldn’t give a clear answer.
After visiting a few more, the investigator found that most centenarians were like this. They had no real concept of age. They thought, “I already have grandchildren, so I must be at least 100.” And the number 100 sounds auspicious, so they publicly claimed they were 100 years old. There was nothing else to do. At that time, the household registration system was not standardized—when the first wave registered their records, the police simply filled in whatever age they said.
Another situation is the kind seen in Bama’s longevity villages. Why are the villagers’ ages so high? Because there, elders aged 80 and above receive 30 yuan each month, while those aged 90 and above receive 50 yuan. To you, that money may not seem like much, but it’s enough to ensure the local elderly agree on a single story.
In short, it all comes down to self-interest.