Derived from Chinese folklore, jiangshi fiction first appeared in the literature of theQing dynasty. The jiangshi is a corpse reanimated by a Taoist priest. The priest commands the jiangshi and directs it to a location for a proper burial. Jiangshi hop as they move and are able to absorbqi, the essence of the living.[1] The ties between jiangshi and vampires, and the English translation of jiangshi as "hopping vampire", may have been a marketing ploy manufactured by Hong Kong studios eager to enter Western markets.[2] Unlike vampires, jiangshi do not drink blood[3] or desire immortality.[4]
Fictional accounts of jiangshi were included in Qing collections ofghost stories and other supernatural tales. They are featured in the storyA Corpse's Transmutation (Shibian) in theShuyiji collection,A Vampiric Demon (Jiangshi gui) andSpraying Water (Penshui) inPu Songling'sStrange Stories from a Chinese Studio,[5] andThe Demonic Corpse (Jiangshi gui) in Dongxuan Zhuren'sShiyiji.[6] InSpraying Water, the animated corpse spews a liquid that kills the wife of a government official and her two servants.[7] A traveler is chased by a jiangshi inA Corpse's Transmutation, which killed three of his companions.[8] There are thirty stories of jiangshi inZi Bu Yu, written byYuan Mei.[5] Qing writerJi Xiaolan provides a detailed description of jiangshi folklore in his bookYuewei Caotang Biji[9] (The Shadow Book of Ji Yun, Empress Wu Books, 2021).
In contemporary literature, jiangshi mythology continues to inspire modern reinterpretations. The upcoming fantasy novelA Curse Carved in Ink by Tzeyi Koay integrates the folklore into a dark fantasy setting. The story follows an antiquarian bookseller who becomes possessed by the "jiangshi's claw," a demonic force that compels its host to drain life and energy from the world around them, reflecting the traditional motif of the jiangshi consuming vital essence (qi). To break the curse, the protagonist must travel toDiyu and undertake a series of trials inspired by theFive Poisons, a motif rooted in Chinese folk religion.[10]
Sammo Hung directedEncounters of the Spooky Kind and producedMr. Vampire.2021 cosplay ofLam Ching-ying's iconicTaoist priest "Master Kau" or "Uncle Nine" (九叔), who served as the heroic protagonist in manyjiangshi films.
A number of monster films were produced before the jiangshi boom of the 1980s and the 1990s. The earliest concerning vampires isMidnight Vampire (午夜殭屍) directed in 1936 by Yeung Kung-Leung. Vampire films were also made in the 1970s,[11] which merged the vampires of Western horror with the martial arts of Hong Kongkung fu films.[12] The jiangshi films of the 1980s were a departure from the Dracula-like vampires of its predecessors.[13] Cinematic portrayals of jiangshi show the corpses wearing traditionalchangshan garments with atalisman placed on its head that allows the Taoist priest to control the cadaver.[14] The clichés imported from Western horror were fewer, but still visibly present. The cloak, a motif from Hollywood's adaptations ofDracula, appears in the jiangshi filmsVampire vs Vampire andA Bite of Love.[15]
The 1980 filmEncounters of the Spooky Kind, directed bySammo Hung, popularized the production of films based on the jiangshi of Chinese legends in the Hong Kong film industry, though it was not the first. As Andrew Heskens of easternkicks.com wrote, "Sammo Hung [...] took the idea of hopping vampires/deceased fromThe Shadow Boxing (akaThe Spiritual Boxer II) and turned it into a phenomenon withEncounter of the Spooky Kind, and things were never the same."[16]Encounters of the Spooky Kind is an early example ofkung fuhorror comedy in Hong Kong and the jiangshi of the film are played by martial artists. A sequel,Encounters of the Spooky Kind II, was directed by Ricky Lau in 1990.[17]
The 1985 filmMr. Vampire, directed byRicky Lau, was the breakthrough success of the genre. The film established many of the genre's recognizable clichés. The protagonist is a Taoist priest, skilled in casting magical spells and performing kung fu, who uses supernatural powers to control the undead. He is assisted by incompetent sidekicks, whose antics are a source ofcomic relief, and must face avengeful ghost.[18]
In later jiangshi films, jiangshi interact and exist alongside Western vampires.[19] In the 1989 filmVampire vs. Vampire, a Taoist priest and childlike jiangshi encounter a British vampire. The jiangshi saves the priest when his spells for taming the jiangshi are fruitless against the vampire. The cliché of jiangshi children, an allusion to a similar character inMr. Vampire II, shows an awareness in jiangshi films of the genre by referencing its past cliches.[20]
Jiangshi films declined in popularity around the mid-1990s.[21] There was a brief resurgence in jiangshi and vampire films during the early 2000s.Tsui Hark producedThe Era of Vampires in 2002 andThe Twins Effect, directed byDante Lam andDonnie Yen, was released in 2003.[22]The Era of Vampires was not a comedy like earlier jiangshi films, a move that provoked criticisms from the genre's fans who felt that the film was trying to appeal to a more "Hollywood" demographic.[21] In 2009, Katy Chang madeNanjing Road, a jiangshi horror movie set against China's economic expansion.[23] In 2013, Juno Mak madeRigor Mortis as a tribute to earlier series such asMr. Vampire. In 2014, Daniel Chan made Sifu vs Vampire.
Jiangshi films have attracted an international audience since its heyday. In the West, the genre is popular because it both resembles and is distinct from the monsters of European and American folklore.[24] It is also popular in the Chinese diaspora and in southeast Asia.[25]
TheJackie Chan Adventures episode "Chi of the Vampire" involves the main characters being attacked by a jiangshi while visiting an abandoned mountain castle in China. The vampire was previously blind and weak, but begins to drain thechi of Tohru, Jade, and Uncle to regain its strength, which would make it powerful enough to survive the morning sun. Tohru and Jade survive becoming slaves of the jiangshi by transferring their chi, except for Uncle who became the vampire's servant. In order to take back their chi before sunrise, the Chans must find atoadstool in a graveyard and place it in the jiangshi's left sock and throw it into a river. After the stolen chi is returned, the jiangshi is destroyed by sunlight and reduced to dust.
InPower Rangers: Jungle Fury, the minions led by the main antagonist Dai Shi, known as Rin Shi, seem to based on the jiangshi. The association is clearer in its parentSuper Sentai season,Juken Sentai Gekiranger, whose enemy footsoldiers have the same name but rendered as one word, Rinshi.
InThree Delivery, Mr. Von Yang uses the Hopsink Shrimp recipe to bring back his deceased twin brother Tommy from the grave, but in the process awakens a horde of Jiangshi that terrorize Chinatown.
Jiangshi appear inKung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, in the episode "The Po Who Cried Ghost". In this version, jiangshi are zombie-like specters that are formed after the living did not pay them any respect, after which they rise from the grave to seek revenge by devouring the brains of the living. In this version, jiangshi are also called “hopping ghosts” as they can only move by hopping due to being stiff from their death. They also have the power to paralyze their victims with their horrible smelling “death” breath. And similar to zombies, if a living being is bitten by a jiangshi, they will become one.
Jiangshi appear inDragon Ball Super where they are depicted as human-type Earthlings transformed into jiangshi by witchcraft using special paper talismans. This technique is used by former Crane School student Yurin to take revenge on Tien Shinhan by turning his students and Master Roshi into jiangshi. However Goku manages to defeat Jiangshi Max Power Master Roshi due to Yurin failing to command Roshi to counter Goku's Kamehameha. Tien and Goku foil Yurin's plot and allows the transformed students to return to normal. However the students destroyed a nearby town while in jiangshi form forcing Tien to take part in the Tournament of Power to pay to fix the damages.
Japanese professional wrestler theGreat-O-Khan adopted a costume and ring entrance inspired by the jiangshi while on learning excursion in Britain'sRevolution Pro Wrestling after graduating from theNew Japan Dojo. The wrestler himself, Tomoyuki Oka, has Chinese-Mongolian ancestry. However, his persona is still that of a normal (brutish) human.
A supporting character ofJentry Chau vs. The Underworld is a jiangshi known as Ed. In this version, jiangshi are undead creatures from the Diyu (i.e., the underworld) They are shown to be intelligent and able to walk normally rather than hopping. Ed is the one of Jentry's friends/sidekick who often aids her in her various adventures. He is usually a small and humanoid being but is able to transform into a much larger form with a rotating mask that depicts his current emotions.
The video gameSleeping Dogs, which takes place in Hong Kong, features an expansion calledNightmare in North Point. The expansion is based on Chinese horror and folklore and features jiangshi as enemies to fight.
The heroMei from theBlizzard video gameOverwatch has a jiangshi-inspired skin for the Halloween Terror 2017 in-game event, as well as a "hopping" emote where she will hop continuously in a straight line with her arms outstretched.
Jiangshi (going by their Japanese names of Kyonshi) are the primary enemies in theNintendo Entertainment System video gamePhantom Fighter. However, they are mistakenly referred to aszombies instead of vampires.
Jiangshi-inspired enemies called Pionpi appear in the Chai Kingdom, the fourth and final world of the 1989Game Boy video gameSuper Mario Land.
Jiangshi are featured as enemies in the gameSpelunky. They can be found as early as the second area of the game.
Munak and Bongun are monsters found in theSouth KoreanMMORPGRagnarok Online, and have the same appearance and behavior as the jiangshi.
The Tale of the Dragon DLC for the strategy gameAge of Mythology: Extended Edition, which features units based on various mythical creatures, has the jiangshi as a possible unit for the godShennong.[26]
Genshin Impact, a 2020 video game bymiHoYo, features a playable character named Qiqi who is based on the jiangshi, though she is referred to as a "zombie" in the English-language version of the game.
