Doctor starts 49-day fasting bid
2004-03-22 23:02
Beijing - A Chinese herbalist has begun a 49-day fast in a glass box halfway up a mountain in a bid to beat the 44-day record set last year by US magician David Blaine, state media reported.
Chen Jianmin, 50, a second-generation doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, began his fast on Saturday in a box on stilts in a mountain resort in Yaan, southwest Sichuan province.
He will live in the 15 square metre cell for 15 days consuming only water and no food, supervised by seven notaries, the China Daily said.
Chen said his fast would "attest to the regimen of traditional Chinese medical science".
He claims to have undergone long-term fasting on three previous occasions in 1987, 1994 and 1999 using "pigushengong" or "the magic of fasting", which has been documented in ancient Chinese medical literature and Buddhist scriptures.
Pigushengong resembles a legendary practice in the Hindu discipline of yoga, in which people are buried deep underground for long periods without suffering any harm.
Blaine, who suffered severe palpitations and breathing difficulties in the final days of his quest suspended above London's River Thames, was condemned by critics for a pointless and dangerous stunt.