Thomas Parr (1483-1635 CE) – Oldest Man in England! (16.8.2015)

‘At Great Wollaston, just off the road from Shrewsbury to Wales, stands a small thatched cottage, birthplace and home of the oldest Englishman who ever lived.  Thomas Parr was born in 1483.  He lived to see ten monarchs on the throne, from the Plantagenet Edward IV, through all the Tudors to the Stuart Charles I.  He joined the army at 17, returning when he was 35 to run the family farm.  He married for the first time when he was 80, had an affair and an illegitimate child when he was 100 and married again at 122.  When he was 152, the Earl of Arundel took him up to London to meet Charles I, who asked for the secret of his long life.  ‘Moral temperance and a vegetarian diet,’ he replied.  Unfortunately, the foul stench of London polluted his lungs, which had thrived on Shropshire air, and he died in November 1635.  He is buried in Westminster Abbey.’

Daoist Master Liu Ming Rui (1839—1933)

In the 26th year of the rule of emperor Guangxu (光绪) – which corresponds to the Western year 1900 – after living for many years in cultivated seclusion at the ‘Secondary Canal Village’ (次渠村 – Ci Qu Qun) area of eastern Beijing, Liu Ming Rui attained complete transcendence of the physical body, and became a truly ‘non-knowing’ (无知 – Wu Zhi) person. He passed away at the age of 93 and is considered a 20th generation Grand Master of the Namo School.

How Old Is The Term Taijiquan? (13.7.2013)

‘The body of Henning’s article may be considered a rehash of the old ‘Wudang’ vs. ‘Shaolin’ mythology, with the facts (where they can be established), presented in a logical, if not meandering fashion; dates, names of emperors and portions of lineages, etc. China’s ‘Self Strengthening’ movement is mentioned near the end, as the final impetus for the association of Zhang Sanfeng with the development of Taijiquan – but oddly enough, Henning (who has written in military journals), does not acknowledge that this movement developed in China as a response to the rampant Western Imperialist aggression typical of the time. Curiously Henning makes no reference to the pre-Song uses of the term ‘Taiji’ which are known to refer to the practice (and usage) of martial arts. It is ironic therefore, that Henning would refer to Chinese myths and legends as ‘ignorance’, when so much of his historical omissions and oversights could well attract a similar criticism.’

Master Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) – Daoist Immortal.

‘Once beyond the initial barrier of potentially bewildering terminology, Zhao Bichen’s approach involves the cultivation of awareness throughout the ‘inside’ of the body, together with an actual awareness of qi as it is distributed throughout the system. In this respect, the inside of the body is perceived (through meditation) as a number of cavities, or vacuous spaces. The breathing mechanism maintains the inflating and deflating of these cavities with qi. Awareness becomes so subtle that even the smallest of movements within the body is clearly sensed. The qi passes around the body through the action of the inward breath and the outward breath, travelling with the blood through the arteries and veins.’

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