MANGKOKOLUM!

Acknowledged grandmaster of qigong (literally, ‘working with life energy’) Li Ching-yuen at 71 joined the Chinese army and taught troops the finer points of unarmed combat. Records have it he lived to 256 years, married 23 times, and fathered over 200 children. One of Li’s disciples reported of having met a much older man, about 500 years old who taught the disciple qigong exercises and gave out dietary recommendations purportedly to extend the lifespan to superhuman proportions. For Li, “inward calm and peace of mind combined with breathing techniques were the secrets to incredible longevity.” One of the quaint herbs that the grandmaster subsisted on is Centella asiatica , gotu kola or what we know hereabouts as takip-kuhol —two leaves a day keeps old age at bay, so insists an adage—which, when taken with a spoonful of honey can keep the blaze in gray and groin matters roaring. However, Li is no longer around to endorse the virtues of the herbs he fed on to keep in shape...