Luo Meizhen (, 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). However, it has not gained widespread acceptance due to the lack of reliable birth records in

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

at the time of her birth.

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. She was from the Yao ethnic group and lived in

Bama county Bama Yao Autonomous County ( Zhuang: ,) is a county in Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Hechi City. The residents of Bama County have a reputation for longevity, and Bama has been the focus of studies from geriatricians nationwi ...

. Bama is known for the longevity of many of its residents, recording 31.7

supercentenarians A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

per 100,000 people at their 2011 census. Luo was illiterate and worked as a farmer and housewife throughout her life. She was described as a nice but stubborn woman with a strong character. 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.

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. However, the lack of official birth records meant that

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

was unable to accept the claim of longevity.

Death

After a few months of illness, Luo died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at the claimed age of 127 on 4 June 2013. She had several great-great-grandchildren by the time of her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Meizhen 2013 deaths Longevity claims Year of birth uncertain Qing dynasty people People of the Republic of China People from Baise