London – The world’s longest married living couple have revealed the secret of 85 years of marital bliss – the wife is always right.

Mr Liu Fuben, 95, and his wife Shi Jihui, 100, spoke after registering their claim with the Guinness Book of Records, British newspaper the Telegraph reported last Friday.

Mr Liu, formerly a farmer, said: “We are still very much in love and always will be.

As to the secret of a long marriage, avoid arguments like the plague and remember the golden rule – she’s always right.”

His wife added: “It’s true I am – but that doesn’t stop him doing what he wants anyway.”

The couple from Tianjin had an arranged marriage when they were very young, according to a report on Chinese website sina.com.

Mr Liu was only 10 when they married in 1924.

Madam Shi said: “I suppose being older meant I could bully him a bit – and train him to be a good husband. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so get them while they are young.

“In our village at that time, men used to marry at a very young age, while the wife should be several years older so she can better take care of the family and be more mature.”

The couple’s son Liu Shuxi, 64, said: “They still really love each other.”

The couple had six children, but only two sons survived due to poverty and disease.

In 2005, Guinness World Records announced that a British couple, Mr Percy Arrowsmith, 105, and his wife Florence, 100, were the longest married living couple.

They had been married for 80 years.

Mr Arrowsmith died only two weeks after the Guinness claim, the Austrian Times said.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.