#Chinese Hopping Corpse

[khuantru]

this is actually a really cool video regarding the origin of 'hopping stiff corpse / vampire' in those 'Mr Vampire' movie series.

it's sort of a cool mini documentary ⚰️📼

youtube: The Ancient Terror of the Chinese Hopping Corpse, Jiangshi

channel: Storied

[ceezedby]

Monstrum looks at the Jiangshi! 🖤

[rose-morose]

alright everyone it's jiangshi time

that's right I'm back for more Chinese mythology in Jentry Chau vs the Underworld and we're talking about possibly my favourite creature from Chinese mythology, the 僵尸 (jiangshi)

(LONG spoilers under cut as per usual)

our resident JCVTU jiangshi is Ed, named for Edward Cullen the most commercially successful dead guy (except like Dracula probably)

(it's a Twilight reference btw) (I'm guessing only gen alpha missed that one)

when gugu's bestiary claimed that jiangshi are among the least threatening residents of Diyu, it wasn't kidding (not even joking or exaggerating its list of weaknesses is the longest section of its Wikipedia page)

jianshi aren't known to be particularly intelligent and are in fact often portrayed as mindless much like zombies, so I'm guessing the reason it was chosen to be the supernatural sidekick character was because of how little a threat a jiangshi poses to the main character

it is worth noting that traditional jiangshi of ancient depiction are known to be substantially more dangerous than their pop culture counterparts, but that's not Ed

anyways, jiangshi are often likened to the western vampire, they don't drink blood, but they do drain the qi of their victims (like Kit), they are undead creatures, they are often depicted as resting in a coffin or other dark place during the day, and they are sometimes known to be capable of flight (however I've never heard of them being able to "shape shift" in any capacity)

I did look into Ed's shape shifted form, and found that the most likely reason for this form is tied to the jianshi origin, jianshi myths are often attributed to the practice of "corpse driving" which was the transportation of the corpses of workers that died far from home back to their village to be buried with their families, the way that the corpses were transported made them appear to be hopping upright, but their is one specific technique that I believe inspired Ed's other form

I found this technique on Wikipedia, and it comes from an oral account of a two man team of corpse drivers, one man would carry the corpse on his back, both the corpse and the man would be draped in a long cloak, decorated with a Chinese mourning or funeral mask on top (though I've never seen a funeral mask as expressive or ornate as Ed's), the second man would travel ahead with a lantern to warn his companion of obstacles, but this doesn't seem relevant to Ed's design

I think this explains the extra tall incredibly flimsy inflatable arm tube man form being due to the design being based off of a corpse on top of another person with a cloak over them (like 3 kids in a trench coat) as well as the mask on top, I'm not sure what else could have inspired this design

moving on from that little side tangent, the common modern appearance of jiangshi (including Ed) is attributed to Hong Kong's jianshi film and literature phase where they just went crazy over them for awhile and put them everywhere

jiangshi appear to be adult men dressed in the clothing of an official of some kind from the Qing dynasty (though I'm not sure if Ed was created from the body of an adult), with pale greyish or sometimes greenish flesh

I mentioned earlier that the jiangshi are one of my favourite creatures in Chinese mythology, and it is purely because I love this design for their appearance, I just think it looks neat

there is another relevant little detail I found online about jiangshi, and that is that in modern media jiangshi are often combined with the idea of the 饿鬼 (egui), kind of pronounced like uh-gooay (that's not a very good pronunciation guide but it was the best I could think of), which literally translates to "hungry ghost"

in the show Ed is often very hungry and is always trying to get food to eat, and I'm guessing this is a reference to the egui part of modern jiangshi depictions, as I've never known them to consume anything other than qi

something I would also like to touch on is a very well known part of the jiangshi identity that is mostly missing from JCVTU, and that is the fact that jiangshi are often referred to as "Chinese hopping vampires/zombies" and that 僵尸 (jiangshi) literally translates to "stiff corpse"

there are two primary reasons a jiangshi would be stiff, and that is either rigor mortis or a fulu Taoist talisman placed on a jiangshi's head like the one shown above on Ed's forehead

due to their stiffness, jiangshi have been known to only be able to move by hopping around since they are unable to move their legs enough to walk or run

going back to the practice of corpse driving, one way that jiangshi are said to be created is by Taoist priests that reanimate the corpses, and use a bell to control the corpses and have them hop their way home, this was supposedly a way for poorer families, that could not afford standard corpse driving rates, to get their loved ones home for burial at a price they could afford

I am not at all disappointed by the exclusion of this design element which, while not being inherent to the traditional jiangshi design, is very often associated with its identity, I actually think it works better for Ed to be able to move around at will, but at least the first episode references this with the fulu paper talisman that traps Ed

another way jiangshi are believed to be created is by leaving a corpse unburied for too long, Ed says his body was thrown in a river, meaning it was never buried, but a jiangshi created by throwing a body in a river specifically does sound familiar to me, I just can't quite say where from, either way if Jentry had waited any longer, gugu's body was very much at risk of becoming another jiangshi which honestly would have been hilarious

the last thing I want to touch on are the jiangshi's many many weaknesses

one mentioned in the show is dropping rice in front of them, coins also work, but in either case the jiangshi would be forced to take a break for a moment to count the coins or rice on the ground

Ed mentions in the Alamo episode that jiangshi can't see you if you hold your breath, and this is true and very silly to me

there are plenty of strategies in Chinese mythology specifically meant for combating any form of undead like roosters and peach tree wood, and these all apply to the jiangshi as well since they are also undead

while there are plenty of other ways to fight a jiangshi, I'm gonna end here for now because this post is getting really long

I love taking any opportunity I can to talk about Chinese mythology because I love it so much, and Jentry Chau has given me an excuse to gush about pretty much all of it

I'd be surprised if anyone made it this far though, these posts get even longer every time, but I enjoy them regardless

anyways, moral of the story is go watch Jentry Chau vs the Underworld if you haven't already, and don't read the Twilight books or watch the films you have been warned

[plainandgeneric]

Tis the season of the spooky! I recently delved into a rabbit hole about the 僵尸 (Jiangshi) and 湘西赶尸人 (Xiangxi necromancer), both Chinese folklores regarding the undead. These are very underrated topics so I’ve found some fun info to share under the cut!

僵尸 (Jiangshi) directly translates to ‘rigid corpse’ (corpse with rigor mortis), but it’s better known as the Chinese vampire in pop culture. 

Jiangshi is an undead that sustains itself by consuming the energy of the living, and moves about by hopping (cause rigor mortis).

湘西赶尸人 translates directly to the corpse herder of Xiangxi. It is considered as a traditional witchcraft practice of the Xiangxi area, and thought of as ‘good magic’. According to traditional lore, families hire these necromancers so that their loved ones (usually people who died in war) could be returned and buried in their homeland, so to encourage the spirit to pass on properly. 

The stereotype of the undead in Qing dynasty officials garb was made popular by horror films and pop culture of the 80s. In traditional folklore, the dead are often clothed in black death shrouds or otherwise have their face covered by large hats. The yellow talisman in movies are depicted to render the undead docile. Here, it is said to be used to keep the spirit within the vessel of the body during transport (I read cinnabar is also used for this purpose).

The necromancer guides the dead with a bell. They would rest during daylight in lodgings specifically made to accommodate this, and only travel at night. This is to avoid frightening the living during day time. 

Of course, there is no verifiable proof for this profession, though it is speculated that some sort of performative corpse transportation existed in history that helped to generate this fascinating legend. The usual portrayal of raising the dead in pop culture is often seen as evil and malicious, so it’s a lovely change of pace to see necromancy depicted in a positive manner. 

[asksythe]

I read your tweet on how Wei Ying’s Guidao is orthodox cultivation based on real Guidao and that it’s descended from Bashu witchcraft. I’m very interested in that. Can you elaborate on it? What parts of WWX’s Guidao are based on real-life folklore? I’ve also seen people talk about how his cultivation is bad because it locks souls in their dead bodies. That doesn’t sound too credible to me, but I don’t know enough to be sure. 

Hmm… I’m not sure what you want me to elaborate on exactly. It’s a lot of materials to cover. Dry materials at that.

In any case, Guidao 鬼道 (Path of the Dead, Ghost Path) is a real-life orthodox cultivation. WWX’s Ghost Path, aside from sharing the name, has two main aspects that draw directly from real-life basis: 1/ the summoning, nurturing, and utilizing of ghosts or wraiths (in the novel, those would be the ghost lady and the ghost child that killed Wang Lingjiao and Wen Zhuliu. In the Donghua, they are represented as ghost brides), and 2/ commanding fierce corpses.

These two aspects are drawn from two different sources.

I. Maoshan Sect’s Guidao:

As I mentioned in the tweet, the ghost path belongs to one of the three main fulu orthodox schools of Daoism: the Maoshan Sect (the other two being Quanzhen and Zhengyi)

The earliest mentions of Ghost Path are in Han and Jin history records as well as the Three Kingdoms: Zhang Lu biography texts. These texts talk of a Daoist named Zhang Lingzhi, whose Daoism is called Guidao 鬼道. Zhang Lingzhi taught the people the way of ghosts and dao and raised an army. His soldiers and generals were called ghost soldiers and ghost generals. Zhang Lingzhi’s Daoism was itself descended from Bashu ethnic group witchcraft. Zhang Lingzhi founded the 天师道 Tianshidao School.

(Citation: Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences - “巴蜀的“鬼道”如何变成了道���?” - How did Bashu’s ghost path become Taoism? http://www.sass.cn/912/default.aspx If you want to dig deeper, you can contact the academy directly for their research paper.)

Tianshidao School underwent several name changes over the year. To this day, they are known under the name (or descended, as some would say) Maoshan Sect in Jiangsu Province.

Maoshan sect has four major specialties: talisman, array, sorcery, and the nurturing of ghost familiars. After the cultural revolution, Maoshan sect lost a lot of its scriptures and relics. But it has been around for literally thousands of years. So there are still things there. It’s not the titan it used to be, but it’s still very much a cultural icon. There are numerous movies, books, and games that draw from Maoshan history and legends. One of them happens to be a movie cited as MXTX’s inspiration for aspects of MDZS in the recent Subaru magazine.

(Mr. Vampire, the movie cited in Subaru magazine features the adventure of a Maoshan Daoist)

II. Tujia 土家族 ethnic group’s stiff corpse driving sorcery - Hunan:

The other aspect of WWX’s ghost path: the commanding of dead corpses by a warlock. In the same Subaru interview, MXTX also talked of folk legends of Jiangshi (stiff corpse, or commonly translated as Chinese hopping vampire) serving as the basis for her fierce corpse, ranging from things like general abilities, toxicity, and tricks like using rice gruel to cure their poison.

Jiangshi has been around since the Ming dynasty, but tales of warlock with the ability to command them originate from the Tujia ethnic group in Hunan.

A jiangshi warlock process the corpses, plaster them with paper talismans to restrain their ferocity, tie them in a row, and leads them using a bell that the warlock continuously rings.

(Hoppy hoppy! It's edgiest conga train!)

Well, I don’t think I need to point out the similarity between the real-life Tujia warlock and WWX’s corpse commanding ability.

This specific sorcery was created in a time of war, when young men died in far-off lands. Their families, wanting to bury them in their home soil, would pay a warlock to go fetch their corpses and walk these corpses all the way back to their home province.

These legends might seem very fantastic but the corpse walking part is a very real job that still existed until the last 50 years. It’s featured in Liao Yiwu’s real-life journalism record “The Corpse Walker”

(It's a really thrilling read. I got the physical copy over 13 years ago while I was in my last year at university. I recommend it.)

III. How does Tujia warlock (and WWX) supposedly command corpses?

Regarding the whole, did WWX lock people’s souls inside their dead bodies. Uh…. I don’t think so.

Why?

Because Chinese beliefs about souls are different from Western beliefs. In Chinese lore, a person has three souls and seven spirits (三魂七魄). The three souls represent the positive aspects of a person, with one soul literally being a divine spark. The seven spirits represent earthly taints and degradations and are bound to the body. When a person dies, the three souls will go to the heavens, the next life, and the underworld, respectively. The seven spirits, on the other hand, dissipate after death after 49 days.

This belief is shared in other Sinosphere nations as well and is featured in other media franchises. If you read Inuyasha, you will remember the Jewel of Four Souls and the Four Souls concept being a close relative to three souls seven spirits. In Vietnam, there is folklore of Ba Hồn Bảy Vía and rituals on how to call a person's soul home.

It’s these seven spirits that create Jiangshi. If the spirits do not completely dissipate, the corpse turns into a Jiangshi, a literal life vampire that has only the worst aspect of the dead person and who is forever hungering for life energy. It is these seven spirits that a Tujia warlock (and WWX) controls.

When you have this context, you can put the creation of Wen Ning in a different perspective, and why is it that it's such a big deal he retains his consciousness as a corpse.

(Citation: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%83%B5%E5%B0%B8/80733

[braxiekitty]

Jiangshi are Chinese hopping vampire/zombie, possessed to return to their body they reanimate their own corpse, they feed on qi or life energy of the living.

The talisman is a seal placed by Daoist priests in attempts to control and direct this unrelenting spirit.

[caine-nobody]

Nobody's Secret Diary [Date: 5/18/15]

Bam! A bolt of white lightning flashed across the sky, pitched black and cloudy.

Guanlin Temple, Luoyang, China.

Amid the darkness of night, men in grey suits are tirelessly digging up something from beneath the ground of the temple compound. The Marquis de Gramont, simply and distantly, watches along.

Mr. Nobody quietly observes by the side, his expression not moving an inch while his pet Cerberus loyally guards him. The fact that the human Tracker hasn't spoken out of turn yet shows how much stabbing his hand had worked.

As if on cue, Chidi, the Marquis' trustworthy ghost bodyguard, approaches his superior with a nod and a report: the coffin has finally been raised.

Pak! The coffin that was closed for 1800 years is now opened. Mr. Nobody looks away out of respect (embarrassment) for a second, but soon turns his head back towards the subject in front of them.

This is the corpse of Guan Yu, the famous military general of the Three Kingdoms period, a paradigm of loyalty and righteousness, whose life was lionised and his achievements glorified that he is deified to this day by the Chinese people as "Guan Di" centuries after his death.

Neither the head nor the body look decomposed. In fact, it remained perfectly intact, its entire face notably looking as red as legends say, at least under whatever amount of illumination the storm lightning provides.

If not for the fact that he had been deified and therefore not rot, these are the signs of someone with the potential of turning into a jiangshi.

Mr. Nobody's journal is right, though the Marquis never doubted it, never doubted his many, many notes would be particularly useful for him on such an occasion.

"Perfect." The Marquis de Gramont declares. Then, all of a sudden, the Marquis bends down his body and bites the corpse's exposed neck.

"Sir!" Chidi calls out in concern, but the Marquis ignores him. Biting until he feels blood dripping down its coarse green robes, he pulls back his fangs and waits for a reaction.

The transformation of the corpse is not unlike anything the Marquis has seen before, but it's still a spectacle to watch. Mr. Nobody looks on in horror.

The corpse stands up on its own, its skin turning into a dead greenish-white, its long fingernails turning into claws and it's teeth turning sharp. It opens its eyes for the first time, its pupils showing a bright silver like moonlight.

Guan Yu has been turned into a jiangshi.

Ringing a handbell, the Marquis orders, "Get out of the coffin."

With a giant leap, the jiangshi hops out of the coffin with ease, impressing the Marquis.

"Good! Very good!" The Marquis laughs. He keeps away the handbell, not wanting the jiangshi to move anyway further, then he asks, "Do you remember who you are?"

The Marquis waits, but the jiangshi doesn't answer, doesn't open its mouth to speak. Mr. Nobody doesn't feel obliged to tell him that, but he knows the Marquis is not stupid and quickly figures that out himself.

"Chicken blood." The Marquis orders. Chidi complies.

When the chicken blood is presented, the Marquis opens Mr. Nobody's journal to a page with a spell on it, takes out an empty paper talisman and traces the illegible calligraphy onto the talisman with the blood before placing it onto the jiangshi's forehead.

"Do you remember who you are?" The Marquis asks again.

Five seconds later, "Who am I?" The jiangshi replies, slowly and monotonously.

"I don't know you, but you are mine now."

Mr. Nobody furrows his eyebrows. His pet Cerberus stirs alert and shifts its attention towards the smell of the Marquis and that unfamiliar corpse.

He told the Marquis of the story of the Oath of the Peach Garden, but of course he will always twist anything good into something sinister for his own agenda. Now, he turns the honourable tale of sworn brotherhood into that of betrayal, something similar to the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible.

"I shall name you, Caine."

OOC Author's Note:

This piece is written from Mr. Nobody's POV. All future writings on Caine's RP blog are intended to be from Mr. Nobody's perspective for the "Creature/Mythology AU". Please feel free to tell me any trigger warnings I should put.

Caine in this AU is Guan Yu whose body was turned into a jiangshi, basically a Chinese hopping zompire. Usually, jiangshi are known for wearing a Qing-dynasty court official's attire, but since Guan Yu originated from the Eastern Han dynasty (about 1400+ years earlier), he would be wearing military armour and hanfu of his time, before the Marquis forces him to wear Western suits.

More lore details on Guan Yu and jiangshi will be dropped later down the road. Just know that many creative liberties are taken. I still try to write as culturally accurate as possible.

It is said that there are actually three tombs for Guan Yu in real life: the Luoyang Guanlin Temple (the location mentioned above) where his head is buried, somewhere in Danyang where his body is buried, and a cenotaph in Chengdu. Due to creative liberties I've taken, his entire body is found in Guanlin Temple.

Character inspiration pics below:

[fengshenjunlang]

People tried to make Wei Wuxian not "as morally good" as he is by claiming that he is disrespecting the dead and culturally unacceptable. Completely forgetting MDZS is a world where the dead can raise on their own.

And Jiangshi as in the Hopping Dead is culturally existing in Chinese Taoism. MXTX said in her recent interviews in the Japanese magazine Subaru that she used the folk legends of Jiangshi as the basis of Fierce Corpses.

So where did this culturally unacceptable even come from???

Do not use any other culture or literature to judge MDZS!!!!!!

Do not use the sob stories of Western Zombies to judge mdzs Fierce Corpse!

Do not forget and never ever forget, if Wei Wuxian is truly as flawed as you guys tried to make it to be, MXTX wouldn't have wished in her MDZS end notes that her readers will take Wei Wuxian's nature/temperament as example.

For more information about Culturally existing of Raising the Dead in China, someone else already wrote about it:

[robo-milky]

Oc x Canon Week Day 5: Mythology AU (Chinese Mythology)

Rook is a jiāngshī, a reanimated corpse that hops and sucks the qì (life force) out of living creatures.

Context: Rook died and the funeral held had to be cancelled mid-way because of a thunder storm; Lightning struck his unburied body. Cloche, one of the funeral attendants, lost something in the storm and went back to the funeral to go find it. Searching for whatever was missing, she crossed over Rook’s body by accident, thus fulfilling the conditions for a corpse to turn into a jiāngshī. (An unburied body struck by lightning with a black cat passing over it. Shhhh- Cloche counts as a black cat) Upon realizing this, what does Cloche do? Take him home! Cause that’s what you do with a corpse you suspect is about to come out alive and transform into a monster, right???

Friendly PSA Cloche is just as (if even more so) unhinged than Rook

[mementoboni]

Kaoru and Hong Kong Movies

X ( Long post!! )

It's been a while, but I found that Kaoru mentioned a lot of classic Hong Kong movies in this tweet.

These are the movies I used to watch when I was a kid, and I never thought I'd ever hear them from Kaoru one day, so I want to give a brief introduction to these movies. 😀

01. スパルタンX (Spartan X)

繁體中文：快餐車 / English: Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written and directed by Sammo Hung (洪金寶), with action choreographed by Jackie Chan (成龍). The film stars Jackie Chan (成龍), Sammo Hung (洪金寶), Yuen Biao (元彪), Lola Forner, Benny Urquidez and José Sancho.

In 1984, it was adapted into the video game Spartan X (released as Kung-Fu Master internationally).

The final fight between Jackie Chan and Benny Urquidez

🎥 Best Fight Scene 👇

02. 五福星 (ごふくせい)

繁體中文：奇謀妙計五福星 / English: Winners and Sinners (or 5 Lucky Stars)

Winners and Sinners is a 1983 Hong Kong action comedy film written and directed by Sammo Hung (洪金寶), who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Jackie Chan (成龍) and Yuen Biao (元彪), the latter serving as one of the film's action directors.

The film is followed by My Lucky Stars (福星高照) and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (夏日福星), insofar as the "Five Lucky Stars" concept (福星系列) and many of the same actors return in those latter films. However, the character names and indeed their roles differ - Stanley Fung's character is the nominal "leader" of the quintet in Winners and Sinners (奇謀妙計五福星), whereas Hung's character takes the mantle in the latter films.

🎥 Best Fight Scene 👇

03. 霊幻道士 (れいげん どうし)

繁體中文：殭屍先生 (or 暫時停止呼吸) / English: Mr. Vampire

As this is one of my favorite movies, I will introduce more 😃

Mr. Vampire is a 1985 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau (劉觀偉) and produced by Sammo Hung (洪金寶).

The vampire of the film is based on the jiangshi (殭屍/ㄐ一ㄤˉ ㄕˉ), the hopping corpses of Chinese folklore (similar to both zombies and vampires).

"殭" means "to die immortal" (死而不朽) or "stiff" (about the same as "僵"), and "屍" means "dead body".

The film was released under the Chinese title 暫時停止呼吸 (literally: Hold Your Breath for a Moment) in Taiwan. This is because most (not all) of the 殭屍 can't see with their eyes, they can only tell where people are by their breathing, so if you hold your breath you won't get caught by 殭屍.

🎥 ※ This video is dubbed in Mandarin (with Eng subs) 👇

The film is set in the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China (清朝末年~民國初期), that is, the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and most of the 殭屍 are wearing the costumes of Qing Dynasty officials.

(That's why, when I first read about the Qing Dynasty (清朝) in the history textbook, I wondered why people were all dressed as 殭屍 🤣)

🎥 ※ This video is dubbed in Mandarin (with Eng subs) 👇

The box office of Mr. Vampire success led to the creation of a Mr. Vampire franchise, with the release of four sequels directed by Ricky Lau (劉觀偉) from 1986 to 1992, and subsequent similarly themed films with different directors released between 1987 and 1992, with Lam Ching-ying (林正英) as the lead for the majority of them.

The film was the breakthrough success of the jiangshi genre, a trend popular in Hong Kong during the 1980s, and established many of the genre's recognisable tropes.

🎥 ※ This video is dubbed in Mandarin (with Eng subs) 👇

I highly recommend this movie!!

Also, I love the the movie song - Ghost Bride (鬼新娘).

🎥 ※ This song is in Cantonese (廣東話/粵語). 👇

04. Mr.Boo

繁體中文：半斤八両 / English: The Private Eyes

The Private Eyes is a 1976 Hong Kong comedy film written, directed by and starring Michael Hui (許冠文) and co-starring his brothers Samuel Hui (許冠傑) and Ricky Hui (許冠英) as well as Shih Kien (石堅) and Richard Ng (吳耀漢) in his second film role. Sammo Hung (洪金寶) served as the film's action director and Jackie Chan (成龍) was also a stuntman.

In 1979, when Jiahe Corporation (嘉禾公司) promoted Bruce Lee's (李小龍) kung fu film in Japan, it added "The Private Eyes" and changed its propaganda department to "Mr Boo!" as a call to action, it became a huge hit, earning a billion yen at the box office in Japan, followed by several Huh Brothers (許氏兄弟) comedies featuring "Mr. Boo!" as the title.

It is worth mentioning that Hsu Kuan-chieh's (許冠傑) character was voiced by the famous Japanese actor Kitano Takeshi (北野武). In 1981, Takakura Ken (高倉健) starred in "駅 STATION ", there are also male and female protagonists watching "The Private Eyes" kitchen fighting scenes. Japanese manga master Akatsuka Fujio (赤塚不二夫) has written the preface and Japanese lyrics for this film.

🎥 The kitchen fighting scenes 👇

#吳耀漢

繁體中文：吳耀漢 / English: Richard Ng

Kaoru mentioned 吳耀漢 in the tag because he passed away in April 2023. 吳耀漢 is a famous actor in Hong Kong, and he has appeared in all the movies mentioned above except Mr. Vampire.

※ In fact, 吳耀漢 appeared in 霊幻道士3 (繁體中文：靈幻先生 / English: Mr. Vampire III), a sequel to the Mr. Vampire series, which was released in 1986. I guess this is the movie Kaoru was referring to.

Speaking of 吳耀漢, I would like to recommend another Hong Kong movie: Rigor Mortis

05. Rigor Mortis

繁體中文：殭屍(2013) or 殭屍 七日重生

Rigor Mortis is a 2013 Hong Kong horror film directed by Juno Mak (麥浚龍) and produced by Takashi Shimizu (清水崇，the director of 呪怨 Juon). The film is a tribute to the Mr. Vampire film series. Many of the former cast are featured in this film: Chin Siu-ho (錢小豪), Anthony Chan (陳友), Billy Lau (樓南光) and Richard Ng (吳耀漢). *吳耀漢 is the 殭屍 on the poster. 👆

Unlike the usual Hong Kong comedies, the overall atmosphere in Rigor Mortis is very depressing. The whole movie is full of nostalgia and reluctance for Mr. Vampire, which reminds people of the glory of Hong Kong jiangshi movies back in the day. Personally, I think it is the best jiangshi movie of the last 20 years.

🎥 OFFICIAL TRAILER 👇

🎥 The Hallway Scene in the movie also uses the song Ghost Bride (鬼新娘), and the song is even more creepy as it slows down. 👇

--- --- ---

It's really happy to know that Kaoru has watched these movies.

💜 Thanks for reading 💜

Btw, today (2023/08/30, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month) is The Ghost Festival (中元節).

[connectparanormal]

Vampire Ghosts

Vampire ghosts are an interesting but lesser-known part of supernatural legends. They have a mix of vampire and ghost traits, making them a unique and scary creature. Many people believe that these ghostly beings possess the evil and bloodlust of vampires, as well as the ethereal and invisible traits of ghosts. Different cultures have distinct ideas about vampire ghosts, and each has its own folklore and way of understanding them. People believe that vampire ghosts are the restless souls of real-life vampires. These ghosts, unable to find peace in death, persistently search for victims due to their constant hunger. Vampire ghosts don't have bodies like real vampires do, so they can go through walls, appear, and disappear whenever they want. Traditional vampire defenses, like garlic, holy water, and wooden stakes, don't always work against them because they can cross physical limits. This makes them even scarier.

The jiangshi, also known as the "hopping vampire," is a creature from Chinese myth that is like a mix between a vampire and a ghost. Typically, depictions of the jiangshi depict it as a reanimated corpse that subsists on the vital energy of living organisms. It hops around with its arms spread out, and it usually wears traditional clothes for funerals. The jiangshi possesses a physical body, yet its connection to the spirit world and ethereal nature closely resembles the concept of vampire ghosts. People believe that this phenomenon occurs when a person's soul remains within their body after death, typically due to improper burial or violent death. The stories about revenants are where the idea of vampire ghosts comes from in Western myth. People think that revenants are the bodies or spirits of the dead that come back to life to hurt the living. Some stories say that these revenants act like vampires by drinking blood or taking their victims' lives. Some of these stories have both ghostly and vampire-like traits, which helps to mix the two into the idea of a vampire ghost. The portrayal of vampire ghosts in books and movies enhances their eerie atmosphere. Gothic literature often uses these entities to symbolize unresolved guilt and unfulfilled desires. Their haunting presence shows how sins have lasting effects and how one can't get away from what they do. It's fascinating that vampire ghosts can walk between life and death, which makes them scary characters in stories.

On a psychic level, people are interested in vampire ghosts because they are afraid of death and the unknown. These entities embody the apprehension of what awaits after death, symbolizing a realm of torment and devouring. The idea that a malicious spirit could keep hurting people after they die plays on deep-seated fears about death and the possibility that unsolved problems will still be around after death. Vampire ghosts are basically an intriguing mix of two of the most well-known magical types. They draw on the long histories of both vampires and ghosts, combining the scariest parts of both into one frightening being. Whether viewed through the lenses of folklore, literature, or psychology, vampire ghosts continue to fascinate and frighten people. This is because they show how complicated people's relationships are with death, the future, and the darker side of the supernatural. Their long-lasting presence in cultural stories demonstrates how the macabre and strange have always fascinated people, as well as how our deepest fears and interests drive our interest in the unknown.

[such-justice-wow]

People always forget that the reason jiangshi hop is the regional burial practice in China where they would bind the corpse up just in case it rose up as undead naturally.

Yeah like theyre often called chinese vampires but its very different mythology

[dailymythicalknowledge]

Jackson's Daily Bestiary #1: Jiangshi

Region of origin: China

Jiangshi are a type of vampire in Chinese myth. Originating in tales from the Qing Dynasty, these creatures are reanimated corpses of the dead. There are many different ways for a dead person to become a Jiangshi, such as magical reanimation, a burial without a funeral, failure or refusal of the soul to move on, etc.

The name Jiangshi literally means "Stiff corpse"; this is because, although they have been reanimated, the Jiangshi's bodies are still stiff, and because of this, they are constantly standing upright with their arms stretched out. It also forces them to move around exclusively by hopping, which is why they are also popularly known as Hopping Vampires. True to their origin, they wear royal garments from the Qing Dynasty, and are often portrayed having a paper talisman over their head, usually used to repel or seal them.

The Jiangshi seek out and drain the Qi (or life force) of living beings, however, this is usually done at night, as during the day, they prefer to rest in their coffins or in dark places.

There are many things one can use to repel a Jiangshi, such as sticky rice, a sword made from a peach tree's wood, a rooster's cry, and so on.

The Jiangshi have appeared in much pop culture, both within and outside of China. They are so prevalent in fact that they have inspired an entire genre of Jiangshi films, in the same vein as western zombie movies.

Sources:

- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangshi

[xeedtiktok]

{Admin note- I’m very unsure of the translation here. I’m getting two wildly different translations, so here’s a screen shot. The typed out translation is the second translation I’m getting.}

(Translated Tweets)

#BAO

Is this really a healthy poem? Is it that healthy poem?

#BAO ) hahahaha it’s dangerous because of course

{another note- a Jiangshi is also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, and is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore}

[pianocat939]

Not trying to be rude, but I have no idea what or where the idea of Jiang Shi Donnie came from, do you mind explaining it if you haven’t already?

Yeah of course- bcs honestly I never really did explain it well-

Alright so for background information:

A jiāngshī, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire,[1] is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. The characters for "jiāngshī" are read goeng-si in Cantonese. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or "life force", usually at night, while during the day, it rests in a coffin or hides in dark places such as caves.[2] Jiangshi legends have inspired a genre of jiangshi films and literature in Hong Kong and East Asia. Although the pronunciation of jiangshi varies in different East Asian countries, all of them refer to the Chinese version of zombies.

(wikipedia)

In simpler terms, a reanimated being who goes for your blood to steal life force.

Now, my funky little Donnie version doesn't include him hopping around, however, he does have somewhat of disabled talking. (more or less either slowed or broken language)

Bro's been dead for 300 years after being assassinated (he basically got put into a coffin by a Taoist priest ritual). And when he reawakens, he's not very equipped with the modern world. So he literally thinks a lot of things are demons- which is kind of a big thing in historical China cuz the Taoist religion.

And there you go, you have a feral turtle man.

(hopefully this explanation wasn't too messy)

[asksythe]

MXTX Interview with Risa Wataya for Subaru Magazine P.7

Which creative works influence you: 

Risa: Please tell us which creative works influence you. 

Moxiang: Professor Jin Yong's wuxia novels (*)! Professor Jin Yong is my number one teacher in the craft of writing. His skill in crafting wuxia stories, his artistic palate, the sheer intellectual depth and philosophical complexity of his stories and characters. Professor Jin Yong's wuxia novels have a profound and immeasurable influence on all modern Asian creative professionals. 

(*: the legendary late professor Jin Yong. He's not as well-known in English-speaking spheres due to the complexity of his works being very difficult to translate to languages outside of the Sino-Tibetan language family. But in Asia, he's a literature titan. He's comparable to Tolkien in that he laid the foundation and codified the tropes of wuxia as a modern genre (alongside Gu Long and Liang Yusheng) and brought about the first and subsequent wuxia waves, and that there's also university courses and entire research field on Jin-Yong-ology. However, he's a much more prolific writer, having produced 15 wuxia series, among which 14 are of comparable length or longer than the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit combined. 

It would be no lie to say there's not a single creative professional in Asia that is not influenced by Jin Yong in some way, shape, or form. 

One of Jin Yong's trademarks is the overwhelming, often obsessive, sometimes destructive love that his characters exhibit. There's not one work of his that is not threaded through with larger-than-life romance, not just among the protagonists, but also among the villain characters. The trend of modern Chinese literature, especially wuxia and xianxia, to portray larger-than-life romance can be traced directly to Jin Yong's influence. 

Interestingly, he's also credited as having accidentally created the proto icon of danmei as a genre. 

I'm sorry. I'm so excited I want to cry. Professor Jin Yong is also my first teacher in the craft of writing. It turns out we all step in the footsteps of the giant, huh, Moxiang?) 

I also watch a lot of 90s Hongkong movies. Do you know "Shaolin Soccer'?  

Risa: I do know! 

Moxiang: Stephen Chow's comedy movies, Tsui Hark's wuxia, and fantasy horror movies. Lam Ching-ying's walking corpse movies. I love all of these. 

Risa: That's closer to jiangshi (*) than modern zombies.

(*: a type of Chinese walking corpse. The name literally translates to stiff corpse. Jiangshi is typically translated into Chinese hopping vampire in English due to their similarity to Western vampires. They are the dead that comes back to life. They suck yang energy from living people. They fear the smell of garlic. Etc... Jiangshi has real-life basis in an extinct profession in China: the corpse walker, i.e., people who made a living out of 'walking' corpses back to their home provinces in times of war and chaos. Corpse walkers are mentioned in Liao Yiwu's historical book 'The Corpse Walker') 

Moxiang: That's right. That's right. A hopping jiangshi. I watch a lot of such movies. Some movies are from before I was born, such as 'A Chinese Ghost Story' and 'Sword Man' (*). I have watched them more than ten times! If I meet someone who has never watched those movies before, I will enthusiastically drag them along while saying, "Let's watch them together!" My novel bears obvious and immense influence from these movies... For example, the funny scenes in my story are very close to the atmosphere of comedy scenes from Hongkong cinema. Or the walking corpses in my story. My inspiration came from these undead corpses. In the novel, I mentioned using glutinous rice as a cure for corpse powder. This knowledge came from the movie "Professor Jiangshi" (named 'Mr. Vampire' in English in the Wikipedia).

(*: Both of these movies are Tsui Hark's movies and are counted among the top 100 best movies of Asian cinema. They are known for their fantasy elements, eroticism, and homoeroticism. These movies came from a time where Asian cinema was pushing boundaries left, right, and center. Swordsman and its spin-off were adapted from Professor Jin Yong's The Smiling Proud Wander. The very same work in which he accidentally created the proto-icon of danmei. I wrote an essay about this as part of danmei history last year. I will make a separate post after this.)

Risa: To be honest, when I reached the part where glutinous rice was used to cure corpse powder in 'Mo Dao Zu Shi,' I was moved.

Moxiang: Ah? A Japanese author saw the glutinous rice scene in my novel and linked it to jiangshi movies... That is so surprising! 

Risa: When I was young, I watched a lot of jiangshi movies. I love them! 

Moxiang: I feel increasingly close to Ms. Risa now. As for other foreign literature, Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' greatly influences me. When I read it during elementary school, I was shaking from excitement. Perhaps because of the influence of Wuthering Heights, that whenever I see complex, intertwining love-hate situations, I feel such joy and nostalgia in my heart. 

There's also my favorite childhood mangaka Rumiko Takahashi! This kind of light-hearted, rowdy atmosphere where characters argue and rib each other is so cute! I especially like 'Ranma 1/2'. I think it's the best comedy manga. Other than that, 'Inuyasha' can only be described by the word romantic. Romantic! To this day, Kikyo is still a goddess in my heart. 

Risa: Although 'Ranma 1/2' is a work that features China in it, what do Chinese people think about it? 

Moxiang: The first thought that comes to my head is 'charming!' After that is probably fond familiarity. This work (Ranma 1/2) features many Chinese elements. I feel that the distance between our hearts is lessened.   

To be Continued (The next part will be the last) 

Translator: Sythe / NPD Khanh