Living to a Hundred This Way

Yue Tong

Flower City Publishing House

September 2021

138.00 （CNY）

“There might be thousand-year-old trees in the mountains， but people who live up to a hundred years old are rare.” “Most of us will not live up to a hundred， so why worry about what will happen in a thousand years？” These Chinese proverbs illustrate the difficulty of living to a hundred years， but in the 2020 census， there were more than 7，000 centenarians in Guangdong Province alone. This book explores the life and secrets to the longevity of more than 180 centenarians through interview notes and unveils the secrets of human longevity from multiple perspectives. Some of these centenarians live in rural areas and some in towns; some are highly educated while some are illiterate; some are active while some are placid; some do not smoke or drink alcohol while others do. It seems that there is no fixed pattern but they share one common feature， that is， they all receive care from the CPC and the government， enjoy the filial acts of their descendants， are optimistic， and gentle.

Yue Tong

Yang Xinhong， who writes under the penname， Yue Tong， is the Vice President of the National Statistical Society of China， a Doctor of science， an author， a senior statistician， and a member of the China Writers Association. His work Green Apple won the 7th National Best Works Award， Unfinished won the 3rd National Bole Literature Award， and 9 of his literary works including The Vanishing Quadrant are kept in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature.

Longevity in Southern Guangdong

On November 1， 2020， at the beginning of the seventh national census， the director of the Guangdong Bureau of Statistics， Yang Xinhong， led the Southern Guangdong census workers to carefully organize the overall task of focusing on the data verification of people 100 years old and above. With this， they started on the journey of visiting centenarians and discovering their secrets to longevity.

The project was a very useful exploratory act undertaken by the bureau of statistics and is part of the 2020 Chinese census. It was an active attempt to adapt to the law of population development in China and was a pioneering feat. It traced the roots of the people scientifically and had a strong sense of positive humanistic sentiment. This has become another innovative point of Guangdong’s statistical reform， and everyone involved in statistical studies in the country should learn from it and work together to further tap the value behind the census data.

They were exploring the meaning of life from a philosophical dimension. The origin and meaning of life are heavy and complicated questions. Guangdong statisticians interviewed more than 180 centenarians from Lingnan， traversing through 21 areas across three different seasons and ten solar terms. In the overlapping of time and space， they have encountered the extraordinary meaning of life. Enumerators have traveled from modern estates to farms， from comfortable and standardized nursing homes to civilized and clean villages， from verdant hills to fertile fields， from the ever-changing core of the Greater Bay Area to quiet villages away from the hustle and bustle of the world. One may search far and wide for the answer， but when they look back， they would realize that the answer is to respect and enjoy life. Guangdong statisticians have found the answer through philosophy.

They were interpreting the pattern of the population from a statistical perspective. The national census is conducted once every ten years， making this a rare opportunity. Centenarians are even rarer. As the most populous province in China， Guangdong has more than 6，000 centenarians. Over 180 centenarians were selected from the oldest of the population for the study. Demographic patterns were unveiled using statistical and professional insights， and precise and detailed quantitative analyses were conducted together with a holistic qualitative deconstruction. Visiting hard-to-find people during a rare opportunity and capturing the pattern of life beyond that of books where there are no time boundaries， have surely made this project that originated from statistics but is now much more a smashing success.

The longevity code from an individual perspective. From forests to coasts， from cities to countryside， from the morning dew to sunset， from the full moon to the new moon. After several meetings and after shaking numerous wrinkled hands， the key for longevity became much richer and interesting. Among the core factors unveiled， there are some that we already know-getting adequate nourishment to sustain the body， eating simply， having a methodical， healthy， regular work and rest schedule， staying calm and relaxed， doing good deeds， staying composed， and having a willing and enthusiastic heart. However， some unconventional secrets to longevity have also emerged --- some older people smoke， drink， and eat meat. Some are kind; they take in orphans and have boundless love for others. Some are trendy and are on TikTok with tens of thousands of fans. These vivid secrets tell us about the toughness and weight of life and expound on the purity and goodness of human nature.

Statisticians traveled across the land of China where beautiful mountains， rivers and lands bustle with life. As the “13th Five-Year Plan” concludes successfully and with the advent of the “14th Five-Year Plan”， the first flowers of spring in Lingnan have bloomed. Let us get to know more about the centenarians of Southern Guangdong， appreciate the beautiful lands， and experience the life and vitality of Lingnan.

（Ning Jizhe， Director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China， Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission， and Party secretary）