Tai chi encourages calm but fans are in a tizzy over Unesco recognition
They say it embodies Chinese culture and fear other nations might get recognition for their own variants
Last year, Indian yoga made Unesco’s list. In 2011, South Korea’s taekkyeon became the first martial art so honoured.
So why can’t Chinese tai chi win similar international recognition? That is the question on Yan Shuangjun’s mind as the annual deadline approaches for nominations to Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, established by the United Nations agency to celebrate and protect the world’s cultural diversity. For the past decade, Yan has lobbied for the inclusion of tai chi, a centuriesold martial art that combines flowing movements with deep breathing and meditation.
“Through tai chi, one can understand Chinese culture, from medicine to literature, from philosophy to art,” said Yan, who heads the Tai Chi Unesco Heritage Application Group in Wen County, Henan province, widely thought to be the martial art’s birthplace.
As much as tai chi advocates and fans insist that it embodies unique aspects of Chinese culture, they fear that if China does not secure it a Unesco listing, other countries might move ahead with their own variants. It would not be the first time, they say.
Although tai chi may have its roots in self-defence, in recent years it has gained broad popularity as a therapeutic exercise, promoting physical fitness while reducing stress.
When China drew up its own national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006, tai chi was on it. And in 2008, tai chi was among China’s 35 nominations to Unesco. But Yan and his associates were told that Unesco found the application “too vague.” They were asked to revise and resubmit it.
They withdrew it, hoping to offer it for consideration the next year. But then the rules changed. No country could submit more than two candidates. Tai chi was shut out when China nominated Peking opera and acupuncture, both of which won recognition.
Zhang Jian, a 57-year-old tai chi master in Beijing, said it would be a shame if tai chi failed again to be nominated.