Luo Meizhen

Luo Meizhen (simplified Chinese: 罗美珍; traditional Chinese: 羅美珍; pinyin: Luó Měizhēn, 9 July 1885? – 4 June 2013) was a Chinese claimant for the world's oldest person. Her claim was supported by a report from the Gerontological Society of China (GSC) but has not gained widespread acceptance due to the lack of reliable birth records in Guangxi at the time of her birth.

Luo Meizhen
羅美珍
Born9 July 1885 (claimed)
Guangxi, Qing Empire
Died(2013-06-04)4 June 2013 (claimed age 127)
Bama Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
Occupationfarmer
Known forlongevity claimant
In this Chinese name, the family name is Luo.

Life and family

Luo Meizhen's official identity documents claimed that she was born in Guangxi on 9 July 1885. However, these documents were issued later in life. Her birth date could not be authoritatively verified as birth records were not kept in the region until 1949.[1]

She was from the Yao ethnic group and lived in Bama county. Bama is known for the longevity of many of its residents, recording 31.7 supercentenarians per 100,000 people at their 2011 census. Luo was illiterate and worked as a farmer and housewife throughout her life.[2][3] She was described as a nice but stubborn woman with a strong character.[4][5][6]

Luo had five children. Skeptics of her longevity claim pointed out that if her date of birth was as claimed, she would have given birth to her youngest son at the old age of 61.[7]

Oldest person claim

In 2010, the Gerontological Society of China announced that 125-year-old Luo Meizhen was the oldest living person in China. This also made her a likely claimant to be the oldest living person in the world.[8] However, the lack of official birth records meant that Guinness World Records was unable to accept the claim of longevity.[9]

Death

After a few months of illness, Luo died of natural causes at the claimed age of 127 on 4 June 2013. She had several great-great-grandchildren by the time of her death.[10][11]

References
  1. "Luo Meizhen of China may be oldest person ever at 127". Yahoo News Canada. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. Mintz, Zoe (11 June 2013). "World's 'Oldest Person,' 127-Year-Old Luo Meizhen, Dies In China". International Business Times. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  3. Shan, Juan (17 October 2010). "Shan Juan (2010) 125-year-old tops the longest living Chinese list". China Daily. Xinhua News. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  4. "Never Say Die". Dateline. Australia. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2015 – via YouTube.
  5. Deng, Shasha (26 December 2012). "More female than male centenarians on Chinese mainland". Xinhua News. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  6. "World's 'oldest woman' dies in China: family". My Sinchew. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  7. Weller, Chris (12 June 2013). "China's Luo Meizhen, World's Oldest Woman, Dies At 127; Guinness Has Yet To Verify Record". Medical Daily. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  8. Fang, Yang (18 October 2010). "125-year-old Chinese woman tops nationwide oldest people ranking". Xinhua News. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  9. Saatchi, Charles (21 October 2013). "Perfect health is merely the slowest way to die". London Evening Standard. London: Evening Standard Limited – via Questia.
  10. "Chinese woman who claims to be 127 would be oldest person ever to have lived". South China Morning Post. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  11. Henderson, Barney (11 June 2013). "Chinese woman, aged 127, dies". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
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