泰式“马杀鸡”入选联合国非物质文化遗产，下一个是冬阴功汤吗？

联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)于本周在哥伦比亚首都波哥大(Bogota)开会，也在昨日（12日）将泰式按摩列入“非物质文化遗产”(Intangible Cultural Heritage)。

教科文组织介绍称，泰式传统按摩被视为传统泰国医疗保健艺术、科学和文化的一部分。泰式传统按摩的历史可以追溯到过去的泰国农民社会。每个村庄都有按摩治疗师，村民因在田间工作而感到肌肉酸痛时就会前往就医。

作为一种非药物疗法和人工疗法，它通过活动身体，帮助重新平衡患者的身体、能量和组织，来治疗疾病。根据泰式传统按摩，人体疾病因能量在体内筋脉流动受阻所致。按摩师用手、肘、膝和脚以及草药热敷等组合来按摩人体部位，以减轻炎症。

Thai massage was added on Thursday to UNESCO's prestigious heritage list.

Originating in India and practiced in Thailand for centuries, the massage was popularized when a specialty school opened in the 1960s to train massage therapists from around the world.

Nuad Thai's addition to UNESCO's list of "Intangible Cultural Heritage" practices "is historic", said the Thai delegate at the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organisation meeting in Bogota, Colombia.

"It helps promote the practice of Nuad Thai locally and internationally," he said.

From upscale Bangkok spas and Phuket beach fronts to modest street-side shophouses, "nuad Thai" is ubiquitous across the kingdom, where an hour of the back-straightening discipline can cost as little as five U.S. dollars.

Tourists get a foot massage in Khao San road on August 29, 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand. /VCG Photo

Krairath Chantrasri, who teaches at the Reclining Buddha School inside the famed Wat Pho temple, helps thousands of Thai and foreign students who flock to the center each year.

The son of a masseuse, he takes great pride in his role sharing the ancient discipline at a temple whose certification is a proud banner for any massage shop.

"I'm a continuation of our collective knowledge," the 40-year-old told AFP.

At Wat Pho's complex, trainees run through a catalog of moves targeting the body's acupressure points with thumbs, elbows, knees and feet while also incorporating deep stretches and contortions.

Doctors and monks were said to have brought these methods 2,500 years ago to Thailand, passing its secrets from master to disciple in temples and later within families.

Under Thailand's King Rama III in the nineteenth century, scholars engraved their knowledge of the field onto the stones of Wat Pho.

The nuad Thai school, which has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries, first opened in 1962.

Tourists learn traditional Thai massage at a massage school in the compound of Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 4, 2012. /VCG Photo

Massage employs tens of thousands of Thais.

The school's director Preeda Tangtrongchitr says they usually see an uptick in interest from Thais when the economy is bad.

"For many people who are disabled or in debt, this job is an opportunity because it requires no material - only their hands and knowledge," he said.

Today, a therapist at a top-end spa can charge around US$100 an hour in Thailand, and two or three times more in London, New York or Hong Kong where the Thai massage brand is booming.

But the training is "demanding," says Chilean Sari, a professional masseuse who traveled to Bangkok to learn the discipline.

"The technique is very precise; there are so many things to be aware of," the 34-year-old told AFP, as she made rotations with her palm on a fellow student's skull.

The teachings focus on directing blood circulation around problem areas to solve muscle aches – sometimes drawing winces from clients unaccustomed to the force applied.

Studies have shown it can help relieve back pain, headaches, insomnia and even anxiety.

For Matthieu Rochefolle, a nurse from Lyon, France, adding Thai massage techniques to his repertoire of skills could help his elderly patients aching for relief.

"It could also allow me to earn a little more," he said.

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