Our Mission
World Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection & Development Foundation
Make a Donation
Join the Movement
Our Story
World Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection and Development Foundation (WICHPDF) was founded in 2018; however, the story began long before then. How about 13 generations before? Co-founder Xunhua Zhang is a 13th- generation Taiyi Master. He is also the provincial Representative Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of China Taiyi Quan and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of China Taiyi Qi Acupuncture.
One of the primary functions of the representative inheritor is maintaining and developing their skills. But as important, if not more important, is sharing and developing these skills in others. With this imperative in mind, Zhang and his co-founder, Jing Li, formed WICHPDF in 2018 to educate the global community about the need to protect and preserve ancient Chinese ICH, specifically in the holistic health sector. WICHPDF’s aim is not only to protect the knowledge of past solutions but to show how these solutions are successfully integrated into modern techniques to form an extended, holistically enriched life.
With Your Help, We are Making The World a Better Place
Qi Health
Our Mission
WICHPDF supports the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, ensures healthy lives, and promotes well-being for everyone of all ages.
Our Approach
WICHPDF’s mission is preserving, protecting, and developing intangible cultural heritage (ICH). ICH includes a broad spectrum of knowledge, skills, and traditions. However, with communities reeling from the impact of Covid, WICHPDF is now concentrating its emphasis on the traditions of the healing arts. Combining ancient Chinese principles with modern technology WICHPDF seeks to expand knowledge of the holistic approach to human health.
The term “holistic” covers a broad range of therapies; however, the underlying perspective is that the patient must be treated as a whole person. This holistic approach to human health and healing has been a part of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years as documented in the Huang Neijing*. Although there are some differences between modern and traditional holistic practices, overall, the emphasis is on viewing the individual as a whole:
“The concept of holism is the cornerstone of the theoretical system of TCM. It not only focuses on the unity of body and mind, the unity of human and society, but the interaction between human and the natural environment. TCM can predict and prevent diseases by examining the interaction between the human body system and the natural environment. In addition, emphasizing relationships, attaching importance to universal connections, paying attention to dynamics are characteristics of TCM theory” –Modern Holistic Medicine from the Perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Why “Qi” health? One of the key concepts in TCM is the notion of qi or life-force or energy. Everything in the world is made up of qi. To be truly healthy, qi must be balanced. WICHPDF Qi Health is based on this Qi perspective of health, a holistic approach. Qi health looks at the whole person and that person’s place in the universe and embraces principles and techniques that seek to balance body, mind, and spirit: Qi Practice, Qi Acupuncture, Qi Longevity.
Qi Practice
WICHPDF President Maggie Chiang: “Qi Health for Hope”, our first initiative, will share ancient Chinese Qi-based exercises. These easy-to-learn, everyday exercises will bring joy, calm and good health to children and adults. Qi-based exercise can help nurture good healthy habits from a young age, and foster community networks and social cohesion all the way into the senior golden years.” For the full statement from WICHPDF President click here. For Maggie’s detailed lecture on Qi and the Huangdi Neijing Suwen, click here.
WICHPDF offers “boost immunity energy exercise” programs developed by Xunhua Zhang. These programs are aimed at creating and maintaining a balanced lifestyle that manages the healthy flow of Qi. Programs are offered in-person and online.
Qi Acupuncture
Acupuncture is probably one of the most famous TCM practices and has gained increasing popularity in the west. It was first described in the Huangdi Neijing Lingshu and comprises the second text of that ancient Chinese medical text. Acupuncture was inscribed in 2010 on the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity.
Although mostly used for pain relief, acupuncture is used in clinical trials for various ailments. After a long period of investigation and research, the United States military has officially approved the use of acupuncture to treat pain. Acupuncture has been provided in the Military Health System (MHS) since 2005,12 and was provided at 83 Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) as of 201313 Click here for references
Most people are familiar with acupuncture needling techniques where needles of various sizes are inserted into meridian points in the body. These meridians are energy points and the needle insertions stimulate Qi, the vital energy life force, and thus stimulate the healing process.
Recognizing that some may feel that needling is invasive, WICHPDF has developed a non-invasive acupuncture system.
In ancient times, the most natural way to trigger the healing power inside an individual was through musical sounds. Sound waves can be used in combination with acupuncture to achieve more efficient and effective wellness outcomes. A modern FDA-registered (2021) and USA Patented (Invention-2021 and Design-2022) device developed by Xunhua Zhang combines sound waves and their corresponding vibrations. When applied at the right acupoints on the body, the device facilitates the commensuration of the meridians, and thus achieves the balance of Qi which is ultimately manifested in wellness outcomes in both mind and body.
As the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the world, Xunhua Zhang invented a distance IOT (internet of things) acumoxa device that combines the healing power of sound waves and acupoint stimulation. It is non-invasive, internet-based, and is granted a patent specifically for preventing, alleviating, or treating Covid-19 infection. Under FDA regulations, this device falls under “general wellness products” that promote human health and well-being through the intangible cultural heritage Taiyi concept of Qi acupuncture. It is also efficacious for various wellness issues including pain management, chronic diseases, and general wellness.
With these new forms of expression of intangible cultural heritage, it makes it possible to deliver high-quality, low-cost health care to impoverished communities worldwide.
Qi Longevity
A smart person once said,
“… add not only years to your life but life to your years.”
Your Donations Make a HUGE Impact
Representative Inheritor is China’s system of identifying “Living Human Treasures” as proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). As defined by UNESCO, “Living Human Treasures are persons who possess to a very high degree the knowledge and skills required for performing or re‐creating specific elements of the intangible cultural heritage. “Each Member State should choose an appropriate title to designate the bearers of knowledge and skills, the title of “Living Human Treasures” proposed by UNESCO being indicative. Among the systems in existence, there are already a variety of titles: Master of Art (France), Bearer of Popular Craft Tradition (Czech Republic), National Living Treasure (Republic of Korea), Holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Japan and Republic of Korea).”
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place’s cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Intangible heritage consists of nonphysical intellectual wealth, such as folklore, customs, beliefs, traditions, knowledge, and language. -Wikipedia
Representative Inheritor is China’s system of identifying “Living Human Treasures” as proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). As defined by UNESCO, “Living Human Treasures are persons who possess to a very high degree the knowledge and skills required for performing or re‐creating specific elements of the intangible cultural heritage. “Each Member State should choose an appropriate title to designate the bearers of knowledge and skills, the title of “Living Human Treasures” proposed by UNESCO being indicative. Among the systems in existence, there are already a variety of titles: Master of Art (France), Bearer of Popular Craft Tradition (Czech Republic), National Living Treasure (Republic of Korea), Holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Japan and Republic of Korea).”
National Library of Medicine (NIH)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799885/#:~:text=While%20considered%20a%20nonconventional%20therapy,(MTFs)%20as%20of%202013.
2005:
- Petri RP, Jr, Delgado RE. Integrative medicine experience in the U.S. Department of Defense. Med Acupunct. 2015;27(5):328–334 [PMC free article][PubMed] [Google Scholar]
2013:
13. U.S. Defense Health Agency (DHA). Integrative Medicine in the Military Health System: Report to Congress. Washington, DC: DHA, 2014. Online document at: http://health.mil/Reference-Center/Reports?query=integrative+medicine Accessed May4, 2016 [Google Scholar])
Huangdi Neijing (simplified Chinese: 黄帝内经; traditional Chinese: 黃帝內經; pinyin: Huángdì Nèijīng), literally the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor or Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor, is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia. The work comprises two texts—each of eighty-one chapters or treatises in a question-and-answer format between the mythical Yellow Emperor and six of his equally legendary ministers.
The first text, the Suwen (素問), also known as Basic Questions,[1] covers the theoretical foundation of Chinese Medicine and its diagnostic methods. The second and generally less referred-to text, the Lingshu (靈樞; Spiritual Pivot), discusses acupuncture therapy in great detail. Collectively, these two texts are known as the Neijing or Huangdi Neijing. In practice, however, the title Neijing often refers only to the more influential Suwen. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangdi_Neijing
Also, see the definition at