#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! 🖤

[vintagegeekculture]

"The Walking Corpse" (1939), one of the earliest Chinese Hopping Vampire movies, a genre who's popularity has come and gone over the decades.

[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

[pianocat0-0]

Got Murdered Yet Somehow Gained Spouse

Jiangshi (Self-proclaimed Husband) x Reader

Part 2

Tw: Mentions of bloody animal meat, implied murder, brief hatred towards Manchurian people (this is just to be historically accurate on the views of the Han people, in no way am I trying to say that you can be racist. I could talk more about it, but basically Manchurian people ruled the Qing dynasty and a lot of Han people did not like them.), breaking into someone's house, delusional ass bitch

(Don't have really good ideas so I'm gonna go with urban legends cuz idk it's cool-)

Jiangshi specifically. I don't think not a lot of people don't know about the creature outside of like asian countries so here's the explanation (brought to you by wikipedia) : It's like a zombie, but it can also suck your blood. So a vampire zombie. It's known to hop around, but personally all the stories I've read they can like run- so whatever you want to interpret that as. They're known to wear clothes from the Qing dynasty, the most recent dynasty (1600s-early 1900s).

There's a lot of causes to how a body can reanimate but I'm going just to list the ones I think make sense to what I'm writing about: The use of supernatural arts to resurrect the corpse; Corpse absorbs enough Yang Qi (Positive life energy); the corpse can also com eto life if the person who has recently died still have their soul in their corpse.

Appearance: Like I mentioned before Qing dynasty clothes are what's the most commonly seen with any media adaptation. This also goes with the hairstyle. They're known to have like dead skin, so I personally headcanon like a pale grey colour. They'll also have like a yellow tag with red writing attached to it, a tailsman. I think it's super cute becuz it's always attached to their hat in the front so they can see as well.

Skills: They're super powerful, and driven by hunger they're like feral dogs. So they're like definitely scary since they can run too.

(Now that the brief explanation of what they are is out of the way, here's the actual story)

(Did I just use my grandpa's name cuz I'm lazy? Yes. Thankfully we use a lot of the same characters as Chinese)

——————————————————

Yiguang was just one of the many assistants under the emperor. Even if he had a fairly good government position after passing his exams, he was incredibly unhappy. For two reasons: the Manchurians and being alone.

Who were they to run the throne? As far as he knew, they were nomadic. Why are they running the biggest empire in the hemisphere? Regardless if they had power or not, the Han people had their own spot in their nation.

Yiguang was a smart man. Hence why he managed to get such a government position even if he was a peasant. He was an excellent writer and knew his boundaries. Hence why he worked for the Board of Punishments. Any criminal got their fair punishment under his word, other than maybe his boss.

Despite making a decent amount of money, he didn't have anybody by his side. His parents would constantly complain that there was no point in being wealthy if there are no heirs. Except he had specific standards. He just hadn't found anybody that caught his eye. So he continued on with his job, writing out sentences left and right.

One night, when he was on the way home after working much later that he usually does due to a destructive criminal, he decided to stop by at a restaurant. He didn't feel like cooking. As he stepped in, there was a banquet of some sort going on beside his table. It was loud, but he didn't pay it no mind. Ladies were singing and dancing while men drank themselves to sleep.

Yiguang simply ate his meal, only thinking about his schedule tomorrow. He was gonna have to meet a lady, one his parents managed to schedule a date with. Regardless, he hated it. As far as he knew, she was stupid, and knew no value of things other than her father's money pouch.

He found stupidity unattractive.

After he finished eating he left, deciding to take a more scenic route home. A slighly extra walk, but nothing he couldn't handle after sitting all day.

The path passed by a few taoist temples, forgotten after the increased oppression from the government. They were still nice to look at, even if some parts of the building were crumbling. He eventually decided to loiter and step into one.

They were all sorts of statues and incense pots, but that didn't interest him, so he walked further down the hall. Eventually he came to a small praying area, with a small statue. He stared at it, confused by its appearance. It was a statue of Yue Lao, the deity of love. Except half of his clothes were scratched off, leaving the stone underneath behind.

Scratched by a beast of some sort.

Yet he ignored and decided he would pray to Yue Lao. He wasn't the most religious, but it wouldn't hurt to pray for his high expectations to be fulfilled. He saw some incense lying around on the floor, but there was nothing available to light it, so he decided to just hold it in its raw form as he prayed.

A few seconds after, he decided to stick the incense into the abandoned pot, and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, the air felt slightly cooler. He turned his body away from the statue, and took a step. He then felt a gust of air, and blue cloth fluttering in his peripheral vision.

Huh?

Why was his body just lying there beside him? Where's his head?

.

.

.

Oh.

——————————————————

It was a crisp spring day, the breeze ever so slightly cold enough to make a person shiver. A ship crew were loading cargo for a ship heading from the Eastern Coast to several destinations. One of the men grunted as helped carry over a delicate red, wooden box to the platform.

The box had no label, no destination, just a tag that said 'fragile ancient artifacts inside'. The men didn't pay no mind to it as they continued to haul more objects onto the ship.

Soon the ship was off, heading onto its long journey.

Too bad no one paid attention to what was inside the box. there was a damaged statue of Yue Lao, and underneath some cloth a body lay there. The Qi slowly swirling around the corpse, making its heart beat once more.

——————————————————

Thunk.

Yiguang woke up at the sharp pain, gasping as his lungs took a few raspy breaths. His lungs felt stuffy, as if they hadn't been properly working for eons. He sat up from his bed, glancing around.

He was in a forest, the leaves yellow and orange, a few birds chirping at him. Why was he in a forest? Last he remembered he was on a pathway home...

He stood up, and look behind him. He saw a read box, with several layers of cloth underneath. The cloth was a light teal colour, stained with a crimson ink of some sort.

He hissed in pain, he leaned his neck to the side to crack it. Ow. It hurt way more. He stretched his body for a bit before noticing that his skin looked sickly. Too pale to be recognizable. He blinked before feeling his neck pop.

Just like he felt his face hit the dirt. He groaned. His body moved forward, and picked his head up. Picked his head up. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He tried to curse a Yue Lao, leaving him with a weird phenonom while he was still alive. Yet his body felt a sharp flash of pain creep into his very being. Was he being cursed?

Why did he feel so hungry? Like he craved warm meat, and some blood.

His body moved on its own as it started to run, stumbling through the woods like a maniac. It was late at night, the moon gracing him with its moonlight. He let out a hiss as he tried to locate prey. He never felt so animalistic before. It felt humiliating, but at the same time exhilirating.

This was the first time his life hadn't been flooded with rules and writings.

He continued to dash through the forest, his jade and red wooden beads fluttering around his neck as he continued to travel through the forest.

He ran and ran, until he came to a house. The light wasn't on. He wondered why his body brought him to such a place. He let out a coo of joy as he hopped into the fenced area. He sniffed the air, trying to locate a scent. There was nothing recent for him to snack on.

He scratched at the door, trying to get in. He decided to simply barge into it. Once it fell, he scrambled in, breathing heavily as he searched through nearby shelves and cupboards.

Eventually he arrived to a place that seemed to be kitchen. Except what were all the weird rectangular metal boxes? This was not a kitchen he was familiar with. He then saw his prize awaiting on top of one of the metal boxes.

A juicy, slab of meat.

He snatched it away from the surface it was resting on and took a huge bite out of it. It was cold. The middle still dense and firm. He chewed it easily though. His sharpened teeth allowing him to maneuver the meat down to his stomach.

He felt much better.

He decided he would learn more about these strange functions before him. He saw one with a weird hanging metal arm. He could see a few levers beside it. He decided to hit it.

Water immediately blasts out, and he shrieks. The kind a threatened animal would probably make.

He did not like this contraption whatever it was. He hit the other lever, and the water seemed to only burst out faster. So he continued to hit either lever until it stopped. A demon this contraption was. It's so dangerous for anyone. Who would have such a machine in their home? It needed to burn and die.

Just as he calmed down a bit, he heard a scream.

He turned his head. Another person stood not far from him, their bag forgotten on the ground. They looked pretty. He could smell their scent from afar. For some reason, the scent was wonderful. Like a love potion made just for him. He couldn't help but purr and pounce at the person.

——————————————————

You had just arrived home from a long day of work and founded a strange man sitting in your kitchen, playing with your sink. Not to mention the beef you were defrosting no longer there. You couldn't help but let out a scream as you saw his strange twitches and sharpened teeth.

"G-Get out! I'm gonna call the police if you don't!" You get out your phone as you trained your eyes on him. As you took a better look at him, you note that his clothes weren't modern at all. They looked like something for a cosplay or a historical image of some sort. The fabric looked old, but of high quality.

He even had several necklaces. The famous jade material too. You saw a yellow tag hanging in front of his face. You recognized the writing. Some form of Chinese.

Before you could even talk to him once more, he let out a purr and tackled you, knocking you to the ground. He nuzzles your neck and jaw, hugging you. Your body could feel slight pain. He was way too strong to be human. You panic as he spoke in a raspy voice, "Mate...where have...been?"

His voice sounded like it hadn't been used in years, or just severely dehydrated. Either way why was he snuggling you? This was creepy.

You tried to shove him off, but he only held on tighter. His claw like nails combed through your hair as his cold skin pressed against yours harder. He let out a huff as he started to drag you to the living room. He lifted his body away from yours, before running out the door like nothing happened.

You lay there in absolute shock, flabbergasted because of what happened moments before. So you just laid there to process everything.

——————————————————

You were tucked in bed, ready to fall asleep. When you bedroom door flew open, and the same man stood, his iris and pupil completely black as he carried a slab of meat in his mouth. He let out a purr, before holding a broken plate. He let go of the food, and let it sit on the plate before hopping over to you.

He held out the plate like a proud man. Like he had just achieved something wonderful. You could make a grimace in disgust as you stared at the raw, bloody meat. "Please get out of my house-"

He hissed. He set down the plate on your bedside table before burrowing himself into your bed. He let out a few chirps and grunts before shoving you into his chest. Once against suffocating you with his strength.

"Eat...mate."

He seemed to stare at you with eager eyes; hoping for you to eat what he hunted for you. Providing for you. Oh, he's just so elated that he finally found his person. Even if he's dead, he still go what he wanted most. Now all he has to do is to make sure they're taken care of. He's going to be such a good husband.

"Eat..." He insisted once more. Loosening his grip as you sat up. He made a little smile, equivalent of a doggy wagging his tail. Except he's an undead being.

You wanted to gag as you saw the grotesque sight before you. You needed to get this creature out of your house.

——————————————————

Yue Lao what the fuck did you do?

——————————————————

(I'm 100% writing a 2nd piece that details more about like his behaviors he does with his new form/home but I'm gonna end it here for now just so I can get something out)

(I know this isn't NSFW [becuz I would get banned if i did] but I still think it should fall under the monsterfucker category just because it is in fact a beast so- yeah. Please don't cancel me lmao)

(Lowkey running out of ideas so if anyone wants to drop something in my inbox as a request or just to talk about some possibilities I'll happily receive it)

- Celina

[blutesser]

MASSIVE EDIT: I've added more to the post!

Okay guys: jiang shi Stone and powerful sorceror Ivo

Jiangshi are hopping corpses with vampirism from Chinese myth. They are resurrected by a master with a written script/spell/seal attached to their forehead. It is both to revive the dead and is a sign of ownership. The zombies are stiff so they have their arms raised and their legs can only hop and hobble. The vampire comes in with their sharp teeth drinking qi, life blood, and their bite turns another into a jiang shi under the control of their master unless killed.

Just thinking about him clumsily hopping around, following his master wherver he goes, shockingly deft in preparing tea and food for Ivo. And an even more adept assassin. His movements while not as graceful as he was in life are still swift. It hurts when he fights against the rigor mortis to protect his doctor, becoming stiff again once the threat is neutralized, but it is all worth it to serve his master.

Little does Ivo know that the seal he made is imperfect and doesn't guarantee loyalty from Stone. That's entirely all on his own. His cold, dead heart is so madly in love with the evil sorcerer that he's stuck by his side for many, many moons of his own free will. Perhaps one day he makes Stone steampunk limbs or even a body to keep him limber all the time while still allowing him to drain life force, but until then he will happily hop along right behind his master. Forever.

Perhaps his skin is a dull purple hue?

Anyway, Touhou got me back on my jiangshi shit. Here's a shitty chibi beneath the cut.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

[pericardium-and-glass]

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”如何变成了道教?” - 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

[teatime-tangents-and-toys]

Context for the demonique poll:

Out of 547 dolls (Including non glow variants, presents, res dolls, and 2 plush characters) a total of 7 have brown skin and only 3 are explicitly human skintones (Macumba, demonique, and Gomez addams). The other 4 are a burned doll, a zombie & a ghost fully colored brown, & a scarecrow. Literally .01% and most don't seem to be poc.

None of the latino dolls, their resurrections and variants, including those based on a real person, are brown. Nor is the only hawaiian doll or any of the asian dolls.

There are far more blue (20), grey (14), black (12), and green (37) dolls. THAT'S how low the diversity is.

(ignore my previous ask, there were typos)

Yep. I forgot about Gomez, but he almost doesn't count to me since he's a licensed doll who had to look that way. But on that note, it also really bothers me that we didn't get Candyman. That would have been a slam dunk, and LDD just didn't even make a second clearly Black doll that would have been an obvious choice for LDD Presents.

Further context on this context, if I'm interpreting correctly:

* Burned doll: I'm assuming you mean Honey, who is either burned or extremely decayed. Her vinyl cast is actually the yellow tones that show through, so the doll isn't even molded in brown--the second photo shows her head popped out a little to reveal the base color of her vinyl.

Honey and her friend Hemlock are both zombies dressed as living girls for Halloween, and both of their masks are White, with Honey's remaining real hair matching and further implying the mask is what she used to look like.

* Zombie: Menard is a strange pinkish-brown color as a vinyl cast, which doesn't quite scan as a natural flesh tone, but he is caked in earthy yellow and orange and brown paint where his skin isn't covered by his costume.

The zombie he's based on, from the gruesome film Zombi 2, is from a Caribbean island, but LDD Menard's name and backstory are taken from a different character in the film who is a White man, leaving the LDD pretty ambiguous. The famous zombie from the film is anonymous and wasn't a known character in the story.

* Scarecrow: Purdy in the Wizard of Oz line is cast as the Scarecrow because of her brain theme, and Scarecrow Purdy has a really good brown skintone for potential POC dolls, but is just using it to look more like burlap.

Purdy's other dolls are not evidently to be taken as non-White.

The previous LDD scarecrow, Isaac, has only standard LDD parts for his head and boots, and a soft fabric body and plastic hands that look like twigs, so what little of his "skintone" that's there is yellow-orange and is not meant to look human. There's no implication that Isaac is made from a corpse in either of his poems, and his death date is blank, suggesting he never lived.

* I wasn't sure what you meant by "ghost fully colored brown". If you were talking about Tommy Knocker, I see what you mean:

But Series 34's photos had a misleading heavy filter effect over them, and the real doll is not dusty brown, but rather, a definitively pale tone, possibly close to S11 Isaiah's.

Nobody in Series 34 is a brown skintone, and if they were, it probably wouldn't have been to make them non-White. It would just be a dirt effect.

Further thoughts:

I wouldn't protest against headcanons that Calico was a non-White character giver her patchy mix of three fantasy skin shades (and values) and her yarn hair texture, though textually she's clearly a fantasy Frankenstein monster with a heavy theme of a patchwork fabric rag doll motivating the skin colors and yarn hair.

I'm disinclined to argue the Asian dolls absolutely needed a separate human skintone or that they couldn't join in on stylized pale tones, but none of them even are human-toned. (The Yuki-Onna and Hopping Vampire are Japanese and Chinese respectively, while Maggot is overtly anime-styled and likely Japanese. The first two being stark white suits the look of traditional paintings and dolls from the times and cultures they invoke, but Maggot could be flesh-toned. A few other dolls might also be Asian but that's less confirmable--though it seems any doll who could be read as Asian-coded is also not a human color.)

You're right about Milu being a fantasy color and the Dia de Muertos-inspired dolls all being pale, and indeed, (Latina) Jenna Ortega's Wednesday is given a stylized deathly skintone in LDD rather than using the actor's real color on the TV show. And the only Romani character, in addition to her horrible name (it's just the G-word) and overall stereotyping, is also starkly pale.

[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:

[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

[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}

[draptorronin]

I think better analogy should be more more intraspecific.

Using the Vampire example, you could have the more Western Vampires discriminating against something like the Jiangshi of Chinese mythology.

"Oh, you poor poor inferior stock. Can't even get a decent meal without getting distracted counting grains of rice. Why, you're nothing more than a hopping corpse!"

Or perhaps even a prejudice against those who were turned into vampires, versus those who were born as vampires.

Racism is an issue in human society because both sides ARE the exact same species (not to mention the same subspecies, for that matter). What divides us is our own cultures we're born into, from which bloodline we descend from, what minor physical traits had evolved in response to what environmental conditions our ancestors had decided to live in, and how perceive those who were born under a different combination of the previously mention factors from ourselves.

the reason "robot racism" is often a really stupid metaphor is the same reason that like. discrimination against demons or vampires or whatever doesn't work, is because there's often a pretty justified reasons humans are scared of vampires or robots or whatever, in a way that doesn't apply to real life minorities, like a fantasy author will be like "the reason vampires are discriminated against is because most of them and kill and eat people for fun and pleasure, and so humans respond by trying to kill them, isn't that so sad" and like no that's a perfectly fine reason to not trust vampires i think.