The formation of human personality is determined by many factors, and it is also the most complex. In particular, the Chinese people, which have been passed down through 5,000 years of historical and cultural accumulation, cannot be described in just a few words. Lu Weibing agrees with the saying that character determines destiny, and believes that character can also affect a person's lifespan. We can get a glimpse of this from the many long-lived scholars and talented scholars who died young in ancient times.
The average life span of our ancestors was very short. According to experts' calculations based on historical data, the average life span of the ancients was about 30 years old. Even before the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was only 35 years old.
This is not unrelated to the harsh natural conditions, lack of medical conditions, hard work, epidemics of plague, and frequent wars in ancient times. But even so, ancient Chinese literati seem to be a special case. Many of them live to be eighty or ninety years old, or even over a hundred years old.
According to existing data, the average lifespan of ancient literati: During the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, there were 20 literati with clear birth and death records, and the average lifespan was 58.4 years. Among them, Confucius lived for 73 years, Xunzi was 74 years old, Zhuangzi was 83 years old, Mencius was 84 years old, Mozi was 92 years old, and Fu in the Han Dynasty lived for 92 years; there were 79 people in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, with an average life span of 65.6 years. Sun Simiao, the "King of Medicine" Lived for 141 years, Ouyang Xun, the calligrapher handed down to the world with "European style", was 85 years old, Liu Gongquan, the great calligrapher and creator of "Liu style", was 88 years old; there were 82 people in the Song Dynasty, with an average age of 65.6 years. The poet Lu You of the "Guo" died at the age of 85; there were 29 people in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties with an average life span of 67 years old; the painter and calligrapher Huang Gongwang died at the age of 85; there were 77 people in the Ming Dynasty with an average life span of 64 years; Leng Qian, who was good at music and music, died at the age of 150. Wen Zhengming, one of the "Four Talents"
lived to be 90 years old; there were 126 people in the Qing Dynasty, with an average age of 63.4. Huang Zongxi, known as the "Father of Chinese Ideological Enlightenment", died at the age of 85, a representative of the Tongcheng School "Three Ancestors of Tongcheng" Yao Ding is 84 years old, Liu Dahuai is 83 years old, and Fang Bao is 81 years old. From this we can easily see that the average life span of ancient literati was about twice that of ancient people.
Why did these ancient Chinese scholars live longer than ordinary people? Lu Weibing believes that there are three unique reasons for them: good cultivation and emphasis on sentiment. Self-cultivation can nourish one's nature, reading can make one happy, and of course it can relieve one's worries and boredom. Ancient literati took saints as their role models and had a superior mentality compared to ordinary people. Most of the time, they could maintain a sense of spiritual tranquility and calmness, which can be said to be spiritually fulfilling. In terms of behavior, people often adhere to the golden mean, deal with things calmly, and do not be tepid. These are very helpful for maintaining health; secondly, they have perseverance and an unyielding character. This also endowed ancient literati with tenacious vitality. The book has its own Yan Ruyu. The book has its own golden house. The guiding ideology of learning and excellence leads to officialdom, which locked the life goals of ancient literati, thus cultivating their tenacious and resilient characteristics, and constantly honing their psychological endurance. In ancient times, there were many people who were still studying diligently in their sixties in order to seek fame. This kind of spirit and perseverance allows them to endure when things are unfair and to let go of unhappiness; third, they are diligent and thoughtful. Diligent use of the brain is good for health. Literati naturally use their brains a lot, and their brain cells are full of vitality, so they naturally age more slowly. Only people who are healthy both physically and mentally can live long.
It can be seen that the character and attitude of ancient literati were an important factor in their longevity. Of course, there were many talented people among the ancient literati who died young when they were in their prime, which is sad. This also has a lot to do with their character flaws and attitudes.