What is a Chinese hopping vampire?

We are all too familiar with the stories of vampires and zombies in Hollywood movies. Vampires and zombies have truly become iconic of contemporary culture and are global, appearing in countless movies, games, and books.

If the image of disgusting, rotting zombies brings tension and excitement with dramatic chase scenes in the movie, vampires evoke fear and curiosity from horror stories to real-life events.

But did you know that there is another mysterious creature that has many similarities and is a combination of both vampires and zombies?
The creature I am talking about is “Jiangshi”, also known as Chinese hopping vampire.

So, what do these creatures look like? What are their different types and ranks? And how can we defeat them? Find out all the answers in this article!

Appearance of Jiangshi

Chinese hopping vampire is a type of reanimated corpse, capable of fighting and even flying.

As they are corpses, their body has become stiff. Therefore, the Chinese call them ‘Jiangshi'(僵尸) with ‘僵’ meaning ‘stiff’ and ‘尸’ meaning ‘corpse’.

Notes on a Minutely Observed Thatched Hut described Jiangshi as follows:

Eyes like cinnabar, fingers like hooks, teeth protruding from the lips like sharp blades.

How do Jiangshi appear?

Like most religions and beliefs, the Chinese believe that humans are composed of body and soul. The difference is that the soul consists of 3 hun and 7 po.

Scholar Yuan Mei wrote in What the Master Would Not Discuss that:

The hun of a person is inherently good but their po are evil, the hun is wise but the po is foolish.

When a person dies, the soul will leave the body to go to the underworld, either to atone for the sins committed in the mortal world or to continue into reincarnation, starting another life. If there are any issues during this process, it will result in the birth of demons and ghosts.

Thus, when the 3 hun has left the flesh after death but the 7 po still remain and seize control of the body, the deceased will become a Jiangshi.

Another theory is that when a person dies unjustly or with lingering resentment. The resentment will accumulate in the throat, and after some time, the corpse will turn into a Jiangshi.

Some other corpses become Jiangshi due to Taoist sorcery for some purpose. For example, the driving corpses technique in Xiangxi (China). Corpses will be sorcery-bound to become Jiangshi so that Taoist priests can transport them back to their hometown for burial.

Similarly to zombies, people who die from being bitten by a Jiangshi will become Jiangshi if they are not cremated. Living people with wounds caused by Jiangshi will also become Jiangshi if not treated promptly.

Characteristics of Jiangshi

Most Jiangshi are very fond of sucking human blood.

However, most of them are mindless and cannot distinguish humans from their surroundings, although they still have eyes. Instinct helps them identify humans by their breath. Therefore, they will attack any object or place that has human breath.

Jiangshi appear at dusk or on full moon nights, because that is when yin overcomes yang and the moonlight will make them stronger. They “sleep” or, in other words, fall into a state of stillness during the day because Jiangshi cannot stand sunlight.

However, these are only the characteristics that exist in low-level Jiangshi. The longer Jiangshi exist, the more human blood and the essence of the moon they absorb, they will evolve into higher forms of Jiangshi. At this point, they are no longer reanimated corpses, but have become powerful demons and developed consciousness.

Classification of Jiangshi

The process of a corpse becoming a Jiangshi is called Shibian (尸变). Depending on the type of Shibian, there are different types of Jiangshi. According to Yuan Mei’s “What the Master Would Not Discuss”, Jiangshi are divided into Purple, White (or Black), Green, and Hairy Jiangshi.

Purple Jiangshi is the beginning of the Shibian process. The skin turns purple and the body begins to preserve itself from decay.

White Jiangshi and Black Jiangshi: After a period of time, the Purple Jiangshi begins to grow hair. If the hair is white, it is called white Jiangshi, and if the hair is black, it is called black Jiangshi. This type of Jiangshi is slow-moving and afraid of light, fire, water, livestock, and even people.

Green Jiangshi: The hair is green and there is a poisonous gas around the body. They are stronger and faster than white and black Jiangshi. They are not afraid of people or livestock, but only of sunlight.

Hairy Jiangshi: After a period of cultivation, white, black, and green Jiangshi grow long hair and become hairy Jiangshi. Their body is as strong as metal but also as flexible as living people. They move quickly, jump high like flying, and begin to not be afraid of ordinary fire, or even sunlight.

In addition, some people believe that Yuan Mei also proposed 3 other levels, namely: Unchanging bone, Hidden corpse, and Wandering corpse. However, after reading the Continued What the Master Would Not Discuss, I found that Yuan Mei was referring to a type of corpse that had already been decomposed and only bones were left, which is almost unrelated to the concept of Jiangshi that I mentioned at the beginning of the video. So I will not mention these 3 types.

Next are the levels that have gone beyond the scope of ordinary Jiangshi and have entered the level of demons.

Flying Jiangshi: as the name suggests, is a Jiangshi that can fly. They are usually cultivated for a very long time. This level is extremely powerful, not only not afraid of sunlight and swords but also able to use magic. Ordinary Taoist priests cannot subdue them.
Ba and Hou:
Yuan Mei wrote:

Some people say that: Shi (尸) first transforms into Ba (魃), and then transforms into Hou (犼).

There are 3 types of Ba, one of which is transformed from Jiangshi.

Whenever Ba appears, they will absorb water vapor, causing the sky to not rain, causing drought, hence the name Hanba (旱魃). In the past, whenever a drought occurred, people would search for Jiangshi and burn them to ashes.

Hou:

Hou has supernatural powers, can spit fire and smoke from its mouth, and can fight dragons. Ancient Buddhas ride it to subduct.

This Hou seems to be a different creature from Hou – the King of Divine Beasts in the Primordial Age.

Weaknesses and ways to destroy Jiangshi

Now, let’s imagine that Jiangshi appear in your area, what will you do?

First of all, we have good news. We will most likely not have to face difficult bosses from the Flying Jiangshi level and above. Because for a normal Jiangshi to reach the Flying Jiangshi level, it takes a very long time and on condition that it will not be detected and destroyed. In today’s age, it is difficult for Jiangshi to be able to cultivate in peace.

Here are some factors that can hurt Jiangshi:

Of course, we will not consider the issue of religious beliefs here, but only the concepts handed down in Chinese folklore.

Let’s get started.

Mirror: Mirrors are the essence of the metal and water elements, and they are mentioned when it comes to imprisoning ghosts and demons. Especially the bagua mirror.

Peach Wood Sword, Sandalwood Sword: Peach wood and sandalwood are the essence of the five elements, they can subdue evil spirits. Moreover, it is also made in the shape of a sword, stabbing people can also be said to be stabbing ghosts.

Rooster crowing: In fact, Jiangshi are not afraid of chickens, but they know that if the rooster crows, the sun will be rise.

Bell: Usually, the bell does not cause any damage to the Jiangshi, on the contrary, it makes them excited. Unless it is a Taoist magic weapon.

Talismans: We are too familiar with the image of Jiangshi with a talisman on their forehead.

Glutinous rice: In some southern regions of China, there is a custom of eating glutinous rice to ward off evil spirits when someone in the family dies. From the perspective of Eastern mysticism: Glutinous rice is one of the five grains, used to worship heaven.

Black dog blood, black rooster blood, Taoist priest’s blood: According to folklore, these are objects with strong yang energy that have the effect of warding off evil spirits.

Cremation and exposure to sunlight: Although they may not be afraid of fire and sunlight when they evolve to a higher level, these two methods can still be used to destroy the Jiangshi’s body.

And those are 8 ways to subdue Jiangshi according to Chinese folklore. If you are really lucky enough to meet a Jiangshi, you can try these methods to see if they really work.

Remember to livestream it for everyone to see!!!