A Chinese woman said to be the oldest in the world has died aged 122.
Lin Shemu, from Fujian province, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on January 1.
Her birthday was listed on official Chinese documents as June 18, 1902. If accurate, this would mean she lived for 122 years and 197 days.
It would mean she was born during the Gungxu period of the Qing Dynasty while Theodore Roosevelt was the US President and Lord Salisbury was the British Prime Minister. She would have been 10 years old when the Titanic sank.
The mother-of-seven lived her whole life in the Chinese province of Fujian, situated between Shanghai and Hong Kong in China.
Apart from losing her eyesight due to old age and injuring both legs in a fall, Lin suffered from no other illnesses and was able to take care of herself her whole life.
She always maintained a sharp sense of hearing and a good appetite, according to her relatives.
Her youngest son, who is 77, said she was always content and good humoured.
He stated that she would quickly find a spring in her step if she was ever feeling down. He also said that he never saw her argue with anyone.
She would often tell her children: ‘There is no obstacle in life that cannot be overcome.’
When she was asked about the secret of her longevity in the past, Lin answered: ‘Being able to eat, drink and sleep.
‘They are a blessing.’
Lin’s family never applied to Guinness World Records to have her age verified.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person oldest person alive today is considered to be Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas at 116 years.
Lin’s death comes after Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who was recognised as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, central Japan.
Tomiko died just two months after the world’s oldest man died aged 112 – a Briton named John Alfred Tinniswood.
Jeanne Calment, who lived from 1875 to 1997, is recognised as the oldest person to have ever lived and passed away aged 122 years and 164 days.
She is the only person in history who has been verified to have reached the age of 120. If Lin’s documents are correct, she would have outlived Calment by 33 days.
