Why is the average lifespan of modern people only seventy to eighty years, with most dying from diseases? Why has the expected lifespan of people today decreased by nearly one-third compared to ancient times? Who has stolen these precious forty to fifty years of life from us?
In my long medical career, I have encountered various patients, and I often ask them a question: “How long do you want to live?” To my surprise, many people say they have never thought about this question carefully.
The length and quality of life are the most significant matters in our lives. If you do not care enough about it, how much joy can life bring?
We should indeed prepare for our health and longevity early. This preparation does not require much time or money, but it brings a high quality of life.
A high-quality life means living to the “natural lifespan.” How many years must one live to be considered to have reached the “natural lifespan”? The Huangdi Neijing states: “In ancient times, people lived to be a hundred years old in spring and autumn before departing, thus completing their natural lifespan.” Thousands of years ago, wise Chinese people could deduce the course of a person’s life according to the laws of nature.
American scholar Haelfri calculated the human lifespan based on the number of cell divisions and concluded that the lifespan should be 120 years. These research results astonishingly align with our ancestors’ records of the natural lifespan. However, why is the average lifespan of modern people only seventy to eighty years, with most dying from diseases? Why has the expected lifespan of people today decreased by nearly one-third compared to ancient times? This is a question worth pondering for everyone.
What causes us to fall ill? Who has stolen our forty to fifty years of life?
Of course, it is the Yin Qi!
The Yin Qi is caused by ourselves. We often harm our Yang Qi and promote our Yin Qi, leading to decline by middle age and an inability to complete our natural lifespan. Our ancestors pointed this out thousands of years ago. The Huangdi Neijing, in the chapter on the ancient principles of health, states that those who do not take care of their health drink alcohol as if it were a beverage without moderation. Excessive drinking harms both the spirit and the internal organs and blood vessels.
Moreover, we often treat harmful lifestyles as normal, deeply entrenched in various health misconceptions without realizing it. For example, indulging in sexual activities after getting drunk, harming oneself with alcohol and overindulgence, seeking momentary pleasure while recklessly releasing one’s essence. Additionally, unhealthy lifestyles such as staying up late, binge eating, and irregular daily routines can lead to premature aging and chronic diseases, preventing us from completing our natural lifespan!
Some say: “People today live longer than in the past, and there are many elderly people in their eighties and nineties.” But I think: these long-lived elders lived in a different time than now. Nowadays, those who work hard both mentally and physically often have health conditions that are not optimistic. For instance, hypertension, diabetes, shoulder periarthritis, and vascular sclerosis have appeared prematurely in people in their thirties and forties.
I am a perfectionist; I hope everyone achieves perfect success and happiness, and I do not want to see anyone suddenly fall ill at the peak of their success. However, I do not wish to see these situations unfold daily around us.
In fact, our ancestors have already pointed out a bright path to living to the natural lifespan in the Huangdi Neijing: “Follow the principles of Yin and Yang, harmonize with the techniques of numbers, maintain regularity in daily life, eat and drink in moderation, and do not overwork, thus allowing the body and spirit to be in harmony, completing their natural lifespan and living to a hundred years.” What does this mean? It means we should never harm our Yang Qi artificially, but I believe this is not enough. In my view, we should actively cultivate our Yang Qi through various methods at all times to enhance the body’s self-healing ability. Remember, no matter how old you are, as long as your Yang Qi is sufficient, living to the natural lifespan is not a dream.
Health preservation is about nurturing Yang Qi
When the body is unwell, it is like being in a cold and damp environment, but as soon as the sun comes out, this environment becomes unfavorable for the growth and development of diseases. Therefore, we must use our own hands to lift the sun within our bodies, allowing it to shine upon our internal organs and bring us lasting health.
Currently, many diseases are difficult to treat, and conventional methods often yield poor results. How can we quickly resolve these difficult and complicated issues? This has been a problem that has troubled me for many years. It is precisely these challenges that have prompted me to constantly think about integrating ancient wisdom and experience into my life until one day, when I reread the Huangdi Neijing, I discovered an important secret hidden within.
This secret is to protect Yang Qi. The Huangdi Neijing states in the chapter on the principles of vitality: “Yang Qi is like the sun and the moon; if it loses its place, it will shorten life and not shine.” The chapter on the correspondence of Yin and Yang states: “Yin and Yang are the source of life and death.” Zhang Jingyue commented: “The way of life and death is only Yin and Yang. When Yang comes, things live; when Yang departs, things die.” These two passages made me realize the true essence of treating diseases and preserving life, and the long-standing problems I faced suddenly became clear.
It turns out that human life revolves around the concept of “Yang Qi.” Only by protecting Yang Qi can diseases be prevented, and only with abundant Yang Qi can the body’s self-recovery ability function normally, making medicine effective. It is precisely the deficiency of Yang Qi that leads to various health issues; many people’s diseases remain unresolved not because medicine is ineffective, but because their Yang Qi has not been activated.
Once this thought opened up, I immediately realized that throughout history, renowned Chinese physicians have treated diseases and preserved health by mobilizing the Yang Qi of the human body.
Song Dynasty physician Dou Cai was a prominent advocate of Yang Qi health preservation. He emphasized that “when Yang essence is strong, one can live for a thousand years; when Yin Qi is strong, it must harm.” He particularly focused on moxibustion at the Guanyuan (CV4) point, believing that during the transition from summer to autumn each year, one should moxibustion the Guanyuan point a thousand times, which is about a month of moxibustion, to maintain strong and vigorous energy and vitality. Year after year, this practice will keep the lower abdomen warm like a sun, bringing joy and warmth to the person.
This secret in the Huangdi Neijing has been discovered by many great physicians in ancient times and successfully applied in clinical practice. Since then, when I treat diseases and provide health guidance, I have made protecting Yang Qi the core content, and many difficult diseases have been easily resolved.
I encourage people to use standing meditation to invigorate their Yang Qi, teach them to stimulate Yang Qi through acupoints, and use dietary therapy to conquer the greatest enemy of Yang Qi—dampness. Practice has proven that this approach is very effective.
Health preservation is about nurturing Yang Qi.
When the body is unwell, it is like being in a cold and damp environment, but as soon as the sun comes out, this environment becomes unfavorable for the growth and development of diseases. Therefore, we must use our own hands to lift the sun within our bodies, allowing it to shine upon our internal organs and bring us lasting health.
Why do modern people have excessive Yin and deficient Yang?
We should adjust our breathing and diet to nourish the Yang Qi of the body. In terms of breathing, we should breathe in fresh air that carries the spirit of heaven and the vitality of all living things. In terms of diet, we should utilize the properties of food to help Yang Qi flourish.
In real life, people with weak bodies often exhibit the following symptoms: cold hands and feet, pale complexion without luster, or dark complexion, being particularly sensitive to cold weather, or feeling as if cold water has been poured on the lower back, preferring hot tea and soup, fatigue and weakness, easily experiencing chronic diarrhea, indigestion, malnutrition, anemia, or edema; additionally, slight exercise can lead to palpitations, shortness of breath, easy sweating, or loose stools, diarrhea after catching a cold, swelling after fatigue, or frequent urination at night, decreased libido, men easily experiencing impotence and premature ejaculation, women having reduced menstruation, infertility, and so on…
All of these are manifestations of excessive Yin and deficient Yang. The human body is shrouded in the ominous clouds of disease, with deficient Yang Qi, leading to these symptoms. To this day, those symptoms seem no longer exclusive to chronically ill individuals; even normal people exhibit some of the aforementioned symptoms to varying degrees. Why do modern people have excessive Yin and deficient Yang?
The Huangdi Neijing tells us: humans are born of heaven and earth; heaven nourishes the Yang of humans with Qi, and earth nourishes the Yin of humans with food. We can observe our surroundings; the pollution is too severe. Breathing in such poor-quality air will surely damage our Yang Qi. Moreover, the food on our tables is exquisite and abundant, mostly consisting of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, which are the most nourishing for Yin. In this lifestyle, many people’s physiques have become plump, but their spirits have not improved.
Spirit belongs to Yang, while the body belongs to Yin. When the two are unbalanced, with excessive Yin and deficient Yang, the phenomenon described in traditional Chinese medicine as “form surpassing Qi” occurs. The Huangdi Neijing states: “When Qi surpasses form, one lives long; when form surpasses Qi, one dies young.” This means that when a person’s mental state cannot fully control their physical form, they will become ill and difficult to cure.
This reminds us: we should adjust our breathing and diet to nourish the Yang Qi of the body. In terms of breathing, we should breathe in fresh air that carries the spirit of heaven and the vitality of all living things; in terms of diet, we should utilize the properties of food to help Yang Qi flourish. For example, dampness in the body is a common problem for modern people; dampness is a Yin evil that can inhibit Yang Qi. Job’s tears and red bean soup can eliminate dampness from the body, and once the dampness is removed, Yang Qi will naturally flourish. Additionally, we should pay attention to food combinations; for instance, drinking alcohol with kudzu flower can prevent drunkenness; cold crabs should be paired with warming ginger and perilla leaves to prevent gout. By paying attention to these small issues in life, we can make significant strides toward health!
The Huangdi Neijing also tells us: movement belongs to Yang, while stillness belongs to Yin. Modern people’s bodies lack proper exercise, leading to excessive stillness and Yin Qi, which together harm the Yang Qi of the body, resulting in a pathological state of Yang deficiency, making our Yang Qi even weaker than that of ancient people.
All life arises from Yang, and all death also arises from Yang. The growth, maturation, aging, and death of a person are all governed by Yang Qi; the generation of essence, blood, and fluids is all transformed by Yang Qi. However, the era, environment, and lifestyle we live in provide us with too little Yang Qi, which is why we are plagued by various diseases today.
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