Jiang Shi

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Jiang Shi (traditional Chinese: 僵屍 or 殭屍; simplified Chinese: 僵尸; pinyin: jiāngshī; literally "stiff corpse"), sometimes called Chinese vampires by Westerners, are reanimated corpses that hop around, killing living creatures to absorb life essence (气/氣qì) from their victims. Jiāngshī is pronounced geungsi in Cantonese, gangshi (강시) in Korean, and kyōshi or kyonshī (キョンシー ?) in Japanese. They are said to be created when a person's soul (魄 pò) fails to leave the deceased's body, due to improper death, suicide, or just wanting to cause trouble. Generally their appearance can range from plain ordinary (as in the case of a recently deceased person) to downright horrifying (i.e. rotting flesh, stiffness, rigor mortis, the like commonly associated with corpses that have been in a state of decay over a period of time). A peculiar feature is their greenish-white furry skin; one theory is this is derived from fungus or mold growing on corpses. They are said to have long white hair all over their heads.[1] The influence of Western vampire stories brought the blood-sucking aspect to the Chinese myth in modern times.

A supposed source of the jiang shi stories came from the folk practice of "Traveling a Corpse over a Thousand Li" (千里行屍), where traveling companions or family members who could not afford wagons or had very little money would hire Taoist priests to transport corpses of their friends/family members who died far away from home over long distances by teaching them to hop on their own feet back to their hometown for proper burial. Taoist priests would transport the corpses only at night and would ring bells to notify other pedestrians of their presence because it was considered bad luck for a living person to set eyes upon a jiang shi. This practice (湘西趕屍) was popular in Xiangxi where many people left their hometown to work elsewhere. After they died, their corpses were transported back to their rural hometown using long bamboo rods, believing they would be homesick if buried somewhere unfamiliar. When the bamboo flexed up and down, the corpses appeared to be hopping in unison from a distance. Some people speculate that the stories about jiang shi was originally made up by smugglers who disguised their illegal activities as corpse transportation and wanted to scare off law enforcement officers.[citation needed]

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[edit] Jiang shi in film

Jiang shi became a popular subject in Hong Kong films during the 1980s, primarily due to the films of Sammo Hung, including Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980) and Mr. Vampire (1985). Some movies even featured both jiang shi and Western zombies. In the movies, jiang shi can be put to sleep by putting a piece of yellow paper with a spell written on it on their foreheads (Chinese talisman or 符, pinyin: fú). Generally in the movies the jiang shi are dressed in imperial Qing Dynasty clothes, their arms permanently outstretched due to rigor mortis. Like those depicted in Western movies, they tend to appear with an outrageously long tongues and long razor sharp black fingernails. They can be evaded by holding one's breath, as they track living creatures by detecting their breathing.[2] They are blind, and lack knowledge. Their visual depiction as horrific Qing Dynasty officials reflects a common stereotype among the Han Chinese of the foreign Manchu people, who founded the much-despised dynasty, as bloodthirsty creatures with little regard for humanity.[citation needed] It is also the conventional wisdom of feng shui in Chinese architecture that a threshold (traditional Chinese: 門檻; simplified Chinese: 门槛; pinyin: ménjiàn), a piece of wood approximately 15 cm (6 in) high, be installed along the width of the door at the bottom to prevent a jiang shi from entering the household.[3] When grains or rice, seeds, anything small thrown in the path of a jiang shi, the jiang shi will stop and count the grains of rice. Sticky rice is believed to draw the evil spirit of the jiang shi out.[citation needed] In the film Mr. Vampire, only sticky rice works, and mixing it with regular rice diminishes its effectiveness. Furthermore, the glutinous rice must be in its uncooked form for it to be effective. Other items used to repel jiang shi in films include chicken's eggs (whereas duck's eggs are ineffective), and the blood of a black dog.[4]

[edit] Cultural references

  • The jiang shi has appeared in many films from Hong Kong that have seen Western release, including the Geungsi Sinsang (also known as Mr. Vampire) series featuring Lam Ching-Ying and the film Fei zhou he shang, the first sequel done in Hong Kong following successful South African cinema.
  • In the Hong Kong comedy film Dragon Reloaded, the three protagonists accidentally destroy a local village tomb and in attempt to help them with their police work, successfully resurrect the tomb's corpse (an impostor unbeknownst to them) and commands it. The corpse is dressed in traditional jiang shi clothing and also moves by hopping.
  • A jiang shi was featured in the second season of Jackie Chan Adventures where the chi of almost all the main characters were sucked out and rearranged in different bodies to produce a comedic running gag in the episode.
  • The protagonists from Three Delivery encounter jiang shi from a cooking recipe.
  • A jiang shi (the one from the Mr. Vampire series) appeared in the novel Anno Dracula working for Fu Manchu.
  • In the manga/anime Shaman King, Tao Jun and her clan control jiang shi, using them as living weapons that serve as bodyguards and enforcers.
  • In the animated series My Life as a Teenage Robot, during one episode, Jenny fights literally hopping vampires. As a joke, a bop on the head (Jenny even defeats one by sitting on it) is all it takes to defeat them.
  • The monsters Bongun, Munak, and Hyegun in the game Ragnarok Online are jiang shi, with Bongun wearing blue garb and being male, and Munak wearing red and being female, Hyegun are also male but they wear brown. They bounce continuously, and attack with their stiff arms.
  • Gaia Online has "Gung Xi" items that resemble jiang shi outfits.
  • In the monsters special of the television contest Takeshi's Castle, one of the sideshows is disguised as a jiang shi.
  • In Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, a jiang shi appears as an optional boss. The player can obtain a glyph from this boss, allowing Shanoa to summon jiang shi as familiars.
  • Taiwanese singer Jay Chou has featured jiang shi in one of his music videos, "A Herbalist's Manual".
  • The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game has a monster card called "Master Kyonshee", though kyonshi is misspelled in both its name and flavor text possibly to remove any religious association from the card.
  • A 1989 game for the NES, called Phantom Fighter, involves a protagonist who must fight through eight towns filled with jiang shi.
  • A 1989 American film, The Jitters focused on mayhem involving a jiang-shi getting loose in the United States.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ de Groot, JJM (1892–1910). The Religious System of China. The Hague. 
  2. ^ Newman, Kim (1996). The BFI Companion to Horror. London: Cassell. pp. 175. ISBN 0-304-33216-X. 
  3. ^ "Hopping Mad: A Brief Look at Chinese Vampire Movies". Penny Blood Magazine. http://www.pennyblood.com/chinesevampires.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. 
  4. ^ Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Bey Logan audio commentary DVD featurette) [DVD]. Hong Kong Legends, UK.
  5. ^ "Super Mario Land foe: Pionpi". http://www.mariowiki.com/Pionpi. Retrieved on 2008-11-16. 
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