On December 17, 2020, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed taijiquan on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The decision was announced during the online meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held from December 14 -19 in Kingston, capital of Jamaica.
On behalf of the International Wushu Federation, the IWUF Secretary General Zhang Qiuping expresses his warm congratulations to taijiquan’s inclusion in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Also, he extends his heartfelt congratulations to the wushu practitioners, professionals and scholars who have been committed to promoting wushu and taiji culture.
Taijiquan is one of the most important wushu events promoted by the International Wushu Federation. Since 2014, the World Taijiquan Championships have been held every two years by the International Wushu Federation. This biennial event, the only world championships dedicated solely to taijiquan, was created by the International Wushu Federation to promote this important discipline of wushu worldwide. It provides a platform for communication and learning between the taijiquan elite and taijiquan lovers around the globe. In 2020, taijiquan became an official event in the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games. The International Wushu Federation has cooperated with Chinese Wushu Association for a long time to carry out wushu and taiji performances at the United Nations headquarters and all over the world, demonstrating the charm and power of wushu and enhancing people’s in-depth understanding of taijiquan culture.
Taijiquan has been included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is of great significance to the promotion of wushu, and especially taijiquan, globally. It also helps to further expand the influence of taijiquan and the number of taijiquan practitioners worldwide, and helps people understand how taijiquan can improve people’s physical and mental health.
Mr. Zhang also points out that the IWUF will continue to actively promote the internationalization of wushu, and further improve the rules and standards, so that wushu can become an official event of the Olympic Games as soon as possible. Also, the IWUF will work to further strengthen the popularization and promotion of taijiquan so that taijiquan can be truly integrated into people’s daily life and become a healthy and happy life style shared by all mankind.
