A 104-Year-Old Doctor’s Secret to Longevity Fits in Eight Characters

I chanced upon a video this week about longevity. As with most content, the title is the hook – creators get a few seconds to stop us scrolling past hundreds of other videos on whatever platform we’re on – and admittedly, this one caught my attention.

The host shared about Gan Zuwang, a Chinese physician who reportedly lived to 104. Impressive, but not the point. It’s not just your lifespan but your health-span that matters. No one wants to live to 100 with the last 20 years spent going in and out of hospitals, with more pills to pop daily than the boba in a bubble tea. That’s not really living, is it? Gan, though, was said to still be treating patients at 100. Surely he knew a thing or two about ageing well!

When asked, he summed up his secret in eight Chinese characters: 童心，蚁食，龟欲，猴行. It’s a century of learning, observation, practice and appreciation, distilled into a pocket-sized manual for living well. Literally, the eight characters mean Child Heart, Ant Food, Turtle Desire, Monkey Move.

Child Heart (童心, tong xin) speaks to keeping a childlike innocence: never losing your wonder at the world, staying curious, always learning, and keeping a pure and simple heart. We need to not grow old as we age. Ageing is inevitable; growing old is not. But age brings responsibilities and commitments, so refusing to grow old can feel like swimming against the tide. Easier said than done. I do wonder whether one can learn to be a child again after decades of responsibilities, disappointments and a fair bit of jadedness. I’d like to think I’m still doing okay on this front, though the Wife may beg to differ. I can almost hear her: “Childlike, not childish.” Thin line.

Ant Food (蚁食, yi shi) is about eating like an ant: not overeating, and not being picky. It’s inevitable that we love some foods more than others, but we can all learn to eat better and healthier. Not overeating is the hard part, especially for people like me who love to eat! I’ve been intermittent fasting, doing OMAD (one meal a day) on weekdays so I can eat without guilt on weekends. But the struggle is real.

Turtle Desire (龟欲, gui yu) is about learning to be zen like the turtle: calm, patient, not stressed over stuff. It’s hard for us humans not to have desires and dreams. But desire has a way of spiralling. Achieve what you wanted, and you want more; achieve more, and you want better. Left unchecked, that hunger can never be satisfied, and it leads many into depression. The antidote, I think, is learning contentment and gratitude, so that even while working towards our dreams, we’re grateful for what we already have. The Bible puts it simply: godliness with contentment is great gain. Simple, but not easy. For me, it’s still a journey.

Monkey Move (猴行, hou xing) refers to mobility and agility. This, I think, is the most challenging part of ageing. The body often reminds us we’re no spring chickens. Sometimes rudely. But we keep hearing that even in our later years, the body still responds to what we put it through. Simple bodyweight exercises, done consistently, will yield results. I do wonder whether the same holds for flexibility and mobility. I’m convinced muscles respond to the load you put on them, but joints and ligaments? Yoga or pilates might keep them young and working, though that’s still a maybe. Strength training will probably come first, for me.

Of the four, the ant and the turtle are my hardest. There are too many foods still to try. And contentment, as I said, is a journey.

The eight characters were new to me, and a wonderfully succinct summary, but many of the ideas behind them are not. Health and wellness is a growing market, especially as the developed world gets older. Yet most of the attention goes to the outward, visible half: exercising and eating well. Much less is said about the inward, invisible half, the heart and our desires. Two of Gan’s four characters point inward. I hope this musing gives us something to consider. It certainly gave me plenty of food for thought – which, as an aspiring ant, I’m trying to take in moderation.

By the way, the video is in English. Hit reply if you’d like the link.

What do you do to look after the inward half of ageing well, not just the body?
What does contentment look like for you in this season of life?

👉 Hit reply and share your thoughts – I’d love to hear what’s resonating with you.

☕ Your support keeps L-Plate Retiree chasing the kind of century-old wisdom that fits on a fortune cookie and takes a lifetime to practise. If these eight characters got you weighing your own child heart against your monkey moves, consider buying L-Plate Retiree a coffee on Ko-fi.