The Jiangshi (pronounced “chong-shee”) is the most notorious of the vampires in Asia, though certainly not for reasons you might expect. Its body is stiff with rigor mortis, forcing it to move around by hopping, arms outstretched like a zombie as it struggles to keep its balance.[1] The sight of one of these creatures, dressed in Qing (pronounced “ching”) dynasty-style robes and with a vacant-like expression, would not leave its victim cowering in fear but doubled up with laughter.
“Jiangshi” translates as “stiff corpse,” a term that has only helped to blur the classification of this creature. Certain members of the vampire community are loath to acknowledge that the Jiangshi is a vampire, preferring instead to categorize it as a zombie, and it is easy to see why. The process of creating a Jiangshi is not so far removed from the process of creating a zombie. Moreover, its bumbling, stumbling movements, lack of self-awareness, and apparent disinterest in anything other than food, have done much to fuel the perception that there really isn’t much more to them. But like all good vampires, the threat runs much deeper.
The earliest stories of Jiangshi can be found in literature from the Qing Dynasty, which ruled imperial China from 1644–1912. There were two seminal texts from the era. The first, Zi Bu Yu, was a collection of true supernatural stories from writer Yuan Mei, and contained 30 Jiangshi narratives from the period. The second came from writer Ji Xiaolan, who presented teachings on Jiangshi folklore in his book Yuewei Caotang Biji. The two texts established the groundwork for what the vampire hunters used to train and focus their skills in order to combat the Jiangshi threat. Having an almost biblical status among the students of Asian vampires, the information provided in the two texts has not altered much from what we know today.
The Qing-style Jiangshi is a relatively new breed of vampire, with sightings of the current iteration springing up around China during the 1970s. Throughout the Qing period, Jiangshi-sighting testimonials describe the vampires clothed in attire from the previous ruling dynasty, the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The Jiangshi’s appearance is indicative of the length of time it takes for the conversion from human to vampire to complete, a prolonged metamorphosis that is heavily steeped in spiritualism.
Xiaolan and Mei had opposing views on the transformation of human to Jiangshi. Xiaolan alludes to chance and accident, such as the sound of thunder shocking a Jiangshi awake, or the excitement of perceiving a living person’s yang rousing the vampire from its slumber. Mei’s spiritualist theories are much closer to modern thought. It is now accepted that Jiangshi are created as a result of a particularly violent death, such as suicide, hanging, or drowning, or, more commonly, an improper burial. China has a strong tradition of honoring the dead, particularly with regards to one’s native homeland and familial ties.
The time taken for a human corpse to fully convert into a Jiangshi varies, though 100 years is deemed to be the minimum. However, the long process ensures that the vampire is given the best defense possible, thereby making it near impossible to destroy and one of nature’s most effective killing machines.
Despite looking more like a zombie than a traditional vampire, the Jiangshi are dangerous, empathic vampires. (Reconstruction by Hauke Kock)
The stimulus for creating a Jiangshi is steeped in Taoist philosophical beliefs and involves the polarity of two forces: light and dark, yin and yang, or, in this case, the hun and po. According to Taoist teachings, every living human is believed to possess a number of souls that remain balanced and harmonious: three hun and seven po. Hun are superior souls that appear at the moment of birth. They are the yang of a person, representing the life force or qi (pronounced “chi”), and as such, they are rational and virtuous. Po are inferior souls that come into being at conception of a human life. They embody a person’s yin, the primal instincts and animalistic nature, encouraging man to covet material possessions and sex and inciting aggression. In death, while the hun depart for heaven, the po stay within the body.
If a deceased body does not receive the proper burial rites, the po will initiate the Jiangshi transformation process once the hun have departed. Normally, “feeding” the body using sacrificial offerings that form part of the veneration of the dead would preserve the corpse and keep the po in their rightful place. If this practice is not observed, the corpse would eventually become consumed by the po, which would animate it and command the body to leave the grave and wreak havoc.
Jiangshi have been known to return to their familial home in search of their loved ones, having never been laid to rest in the proper way. This rarely ends well. Given the length of time it takes for the transformation process, the inhabitants of the home are either several generations along or unrelated to the vampire standing on their doorstep.
Surviving witnesses claim to have seen Jiangshi sucking the blood out of their victims, but this is certainly not the case. Western entertainment depicting the traditional European, bloodsucking vampire has flooded the Chinese market, influencing the perception of vampires. While it may be true that a Jiangshi encounter could result in some bloodshed, the vampire is not a haemophage. Like the African Obayifo, it is a type of psychic vampire, and instead targets a prey’s qi using empathic abilities.
In traditional Chinese culture, it is believed that a person’s qi sustains them, providing life and vitality. Roaming the earth as undead creatures caught between the mortal realm and the next life, Jiangshi devour qi in order to anchor their souls to our living realm. It is thought that with enough qi, a Jiangshi will be able to revert to its human state, though a successful reversal has yet to be recorded.
Jiangshi are almost blind, relying instead on their other senses to track down their victims. They are able to detect and track prey by the energy fluctuations that are caused by human breathing. The vampire’s limited movement means it depends on close-range techniques to incapacitate its prey. It uses its breath as a weapon, expeling a putrid, rancid, green musk that disorients and paralyzes the target. With the unlucky victim lying in its arms, Jiangshi use a “death kiss” to suck the qi out, leaving their target devoid of any life force and rendering them a corpse.
The stiffness of a Jiangshi will lessen the longer they are out of the grave, allowing them to have a greater degree of flexibility and control over their limbs, which will have horrific results on a victim. If a Jiangshi feels threatened or that it has exhausted all other methods of subduing its prey, it will not hesitate to tear its target limb from limb.
Bluntly put, for the untrained, the key to escaping from a Jiangshi is not to get caught in the first place. Once trapped in its vice-like grip, or knocked out by the potent stench of its breath, it is unlikely you will live to tell the tale.
The earliest surviving documentation on Jiangshi is recorded within Xiaolan’s and Mei’s texts from the 18th century. Much of the literature on Eastern vampires is believed to have been destroyed when the Shaolin Monastery that housed them was lit on fire by the warlord Shi Yousan in 1928. The fire raged for 40 days, destroying the temple and countless other sacred texts and martial arts manuals, some of which were centuries old. All that remained were wall frescoes painted with images of fighting monks, and stone tablets that stated, somewhat ironically, that the destruction of the temple was prohibited.
The role of the Shaolin Monastery, built in AD 495–496 and nestled among the Songshan mountain range in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and its eponymous monks runs much deeper than simply being a library for old vampiric texts. The Jiangshi have a long history with the Shaolin monks, who helped in the transportation of Jiangshi bodies.
The appropriate and honorable burial of a deceased family member held great importance to the people of China. As such, penniless relatives who could not afford the expense of transporting the whole family to the gravesite of their departed loved one would pay a smaller charge to a Taoist priest to ferry the dead from one place to another. The priests would lead the Jiangshi to their proper burial ground using magical talismans pinned to the heads of Jiangshi to keep them under control, in a process known as “traveling a corpse over a thousand li.” The journey would only be undertaken during the night, and the priest would ring a bell to warn other people of their passing.
Exerting control over larger numbers of Jiangshi would put the strain on magic wielded by the Taoist priests. Consequently, there would be occasions where priests would lose control of the hopping vampires. Driven insane and unable to find their way home, the creature would become wild and unmanageable. In order to regain control, priests would have to use more powerful magical talismans, but getting within close proximity of the vampire was no easy feat. A Jiangshi’s strengths lie in its close-range defensive and offensive capabilities, making it impossible for Taoist priests to get close enough to wield their spiritualist magic, leaving the Jiangshi to roam free and cause chaos.
The skills afforded by meditation and close-range kung fu techniques made the Shaolin monks the perfect solution to the problem, and so they began to accompany the priests on their journeys. Not only could the monks protect innocent people who were attacked by wayward Jiangshi, they were also able to defend the vampires from bandits and thieves, and ensured they were unharmed before arriving at their final destination.
A graveyard in the Shaolin Temple, which serves as a silent testimony to the monk’s continuing service to the dead.
The Shaolin Temple is famous for the profound knowledge and practice of all aspects of martial arts taught therein since the 6th century. Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from southern India and the man credited with introducing Chan Buddhism to China, united body and soul in the practices of the Shaolin monks and kick-started their physical training.
According to The Records of Transmission of the Lamp (or Jing de zhuan deng lu), Bodhidharma arrived in southern China around AD 520 and visited the Shaolin Temple shortly after. He was initially rejected by the monks, and so spent nine years meditating in a cave in the mountains. The monks were so impressed by his devotion that they eventually invited him to enter the temple.
Bodhidharma transformed the monks’ lifestyle from one based exclusively on the external arts – rituals and scripture translation – and balanced it with a focus on internal development, deep meditation and natural living.
A special transmission outside the scriptures.
No dependence on words and letters.
Direct pointing to the heart of mankind.
Seeing into one’s nature,
and attainment of Buddhahood.
This statement, attributed to Bodhidharma, forms the basis of his teachings to the monks at Shaolin. He began educating them about his version of meditation, dhyana – the proper concentration of the mind. He found that his students were too weak to sustain their stamina during the intense periods of meditation, and so introduced physical fitness and martial arts into their training in order to strengthen body as well as mind. Bodhidharma stressed the importance of fusing these two practices together to create a whole, perfect warrior. In doing so, the monks were able to harmonize their external body strength with their internal mind strength, thereby invigorating the fundamental life force, qi.
While the martial arts have undergone many evolutions over the centuries, the weaponry of the Shaolin vampire hunter has remained largely untouched. Aside from the hunter’s command of Shaolin martial arts, he has an arsenal of offensive weaponry at his disposal. Shaolin are famous for their staff-fighting techniques. The staff, or gun, is known as the grandfather of weapons in Chinese folklore. Like so many concepts in vampire hunting from Asia, the staff is a multipurpose implement, and can be used in offense, defense, and as a tool for other purposes. As we have come to expect with vampire hunters the world over, each weapon has been carefully considered and only implemented if it had multiple benefits.
A sword carved from the peach tree has long been used by hunters in China to battle Jiangshi because of the powerful properties imbued within the wood, which are believed to drive off evil spirits. Over the years, hunters have added other weapons and accessories to their armories. One popular item among certain hunters is the conical hat. It is unlike other hats of its kind. Carefully crafted to be more aerodynamic, hunters learn how to throw the hats like they would a frisbee. The silver-tipped, sharp edges, coupled with the incredible speed of a spinning blade, are able to deal some degree of damage in battle. Though it will not incapacitate the Jiangshi, hunters will throw the hat as a diversionary tactic. It takes incredible skill to know how to handle the spinning hat, and its lack of dependency in battle is a reason why other hunters may not choose to learn how to master it.
Bodhidharma’s greatest contribution to what would serve as a Shaolin vampire hunter’s most crucial technique almost one thousand years later was qigong (chi gung), or “life energy cultivation.” The practice comprised three elements: breathing, posture, and the mental focus of guiding qi through the body, thereby emphasizing a calm state of mind. Bodhidharma believed that the regulation of one’s breath would increase stamina and endurance and allow the monks to become more capable at practicing advanced and difficult martial art techniques.
Taoists held similar beliefs to those of the Buddhist teachings of qigong, and the practice adopted by the Shaolin monks became a hybrid of Buddhism and Taoism. As a result, they were able to access higher realms of awareness and push themselves further than they had gone before. The training continued to strengthen the monks, eventually becoming a necessity when bandits came to rob from the temples. During the monks’ travels, they would teach, share and develop their skills with those they encountered on the way, disseminating diverse martial arts styles across the country and to the rest of Asia.
Though the Shaolin monks had a history of remaining neutral in politics and times of conflict, when they were called upon by the Taoist priests to help with the transportation of Jiangshi, they had to act, if only to protect those who were at harm. The Taoist qigong principles of harmony and balance are essential teachings at Shaolin, and the rise of Jiangshi, with the overabundance of po, was in direct opposition to what the monks believed. As such, specialist units of Shaolin monks, created specifically for defending against the Jiangshi, were trained at the temple.
The Shaolin vampire hunters settled on moves from three animal styles – snake, monkey and the newly developed praying mantis – to form the vung fu style.
The snake style uses coiling motions in the waist, legs and upper body to create rippling effects, and its yin allows the user to penetrate even the most complicated of defenses with expert precision. It also teaches balance and patience, as the user waits for its prey to come within range, and thus conserves energy.
The flexibility, agility and unpredictable nature of the monkey style allows the user to evade danger by using jumps, flips and rolls. A cheekier style than the others, it is used to taunt an opponent, drawing them closer before attacking quickly with multiple hits.
The praying mantis evolved independently of the original five animal styles. It was created by Wang Lang, one of 18 masters who, sometime in the 13th century, were summoned to the Shaolin Temple to improve the martial arts. The style comprises short-range moves combined with fast and complex footwork to strike at an opponent, with emphasis on the elbows and fingers to attack pressure points. Praying mantis amplifies speed, accentuating fast reflexes, and develops patience. The knowledge of pressure points means that a user can focus their qi to heal the body. Praying mantis uses the footwork of the monkey style to form its deadly technique.
All three styles act together to produce quick, sharp moves that can seemingly overcome any defense at close range.
However, the Taoist priests soon learned that the Jiangshi were becoming too unruly, and the task of transporting them (in some cases over hundreds of miles) was not attractive, particularly when they were so at risk. Consequently, control over Jiangshi diminished and the vampire problem began to spread. It was no longer enough for the monks to be defensive fighters. They had to switch to an offensive strategy. They had to become hunters.
The Shaolin breathing techniques taught by Bodhidharma were vital in the fight against the Jiangshi. Not only did they allow the hunters to focus their internal energy and deliver maximum impact against their opponent, but by controlling their breathing, the Shaolin vampire hunters were able to evade detection from the Jiangshi, whose instincts are attuned to the distinct energy left behind by a living person’s breath. The breathing technique also rendered the Jiangshi’s poisonous breath, one of its greatest weapons, almost useless, as the Shaolin vampire hunters were able to get closer to the vampires than anyone else and remain unaffected by the noxious fumes.
A representation of Bodhidharma, the man credited with introducing Chan Buddhism to China. (SIHASAKPRACHUM / Shutterstock.com)
Bodhidharma’s legacy extends beyond the meditative exercises he introduced at the Shaolin Temple in the 6th century. He laid the foundation for what would develop into the five animal styles of kung fu – dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane – consisting of roughly 172 moves that, in turn, would give birth to many other styles of fighting. Shaolin martial arts were distributed and shared with other martial art practitioners, becoming an amalgamation of different practices and beliefs.
As the Jiangshi threat rose to prominence in the 16th century, the Shaolin monks decided to combine a number of different animal styles to tackle the unique offensive and defensive abilities of their opponents. Through a combination of observation and consideration, they drew on several elements to create a specialist vampire kung fu style, affectionately named by Westerners as “vung fu.”
Though the vung fu was an effective fighting style, it was not enough to execute a Jiangshi. The question remained: how do you kill a seemingly indestructible vampire?
The complicated process for disposing of a Jiangshi means that hunters need to acquire an array of skills and teachings to overcome the vampire hordes. In addition to their prowess in martial arts and weaponry, and learning how to focus one’s qi, it is vital that a Jiangshi hunter is trained to wield Taoist magic. This magic is more about faith than it is waving a wand. “Magic” is an abstract term that has entered popular culture because it is a perplexing art form that the uninitiated are unable to comprehend. Its true name is hidden from us, likely destroyed in the devastation of the Shaolin Temple in the early 20th century.
This magic is represented by fu, yellow strips of paper that have ancient symbols written upon them. The use of these talismans dates back to the reign of the Five Emperors of China between circa 2852–2205 BC. Their function is not restricted to handling Jiangshi. They can also be used to repel evil of all kinds and are able to enhance a particular ability or characteristic. It is the spiritual process behind the creation of these talismans that gives them their power.
Fu must be written on yellow paper. The color brings clarity and enlightenment to the spell, allowing it to work to maximum effect. It also helps the creator to focus their qi. A series of sacred symbols are written upon each fu; the exact use of these symbols depends on the magic one is trying to perform.
Only when the inscriptions are made using the blood of a rooster do they have any effect. The reasons for this comes from a tradition in China to use roosters to drive away evil spirits. As an animal that represents yang, the rooster is also able to counter the abundance of yin that has consumed the Jiangshi host. Blood is a constant factor in life and death, and the red color signifies luck. The blood is also used to represent an oath to both rid the mortal plane of the Jiangshi and to deliver the vampire to its resting place. Modern-day tourists and Jiangshi-hunting enthusiasts must be wary of talismans being sold to the public in the temples around China. These are not effective spells to use on vampires and do not hold the same power of those created by trained Jiangshi hunters or genuine Taoist priests.
To be fully effective, fu must be written on yellow paper. Please note that the symbols reproduced here are representational and should not be used in actual fu construction. (Reconstruction by Hauke Kock)
The talisman must be pinned to the head of the Jiangshi, freezing the vampire in its tracks and allowing it to be controlled by a bell. Every ring of the bell forces the vampire to hop. Once under the control of the hunter, the Jiangshi must be led to its home village, and magic is used to bind it to its new gravesite.
For reasons that have never been adequately explained, Hong Kong is a hotbed of Jiangshi activity, receiving nearly ten times the number of reported attacks as would be expected for a city of its size.
The colors on a hunter’s costume – white, red, and blue-green – represent concepts that counter a Jiangshi, acting as a defensive layer and helping the hunter to focus their qi. White signifies purity and mourning, red is happiness and joy, and blue-green represents spring and vitality. These concepts oppose those represented by the Jiangshi: fear, death, and suffering.
There are a number of other defenses that can be used against a Jiangshi that will pacify the creature for a short period of time. Throwing rice, seeds or dried peas onto the ground will slow the vampire’s approach as it stops to count the grains. If backed into a corner, a useful delaying tactic is to create a circle of rice around yourself or the Jiangshi, which will hold the creature at bay. While the rice has no actual physical or mystical power, the creature is hardwired to stop and count the grains of rice.
A hen’s egg can slow a Jiangshi (the egg represents new life and we have already noted what effect the chicken family has on the vampire) and loud noises can scare away the vampire. Using a straw broom to literally sweep away a Jiangshi is a common piece of advice that, strange as it may seem, does work. The broom has no real significance; however, it has been given symbolic value as a result of its appearance in folklore tales, which are hundreds of years old. The beliefs in these superstitions have given the broom the power to ward off vampires. It is not the most effective of defenses, but it has some intrinsic value to the masses of Chinese citizens who possess one of these objects, offering assurance that they hold some sort of protection against the invasion of Jiangshi.
The Jiangshi is a nocturnal being, and a “fresh” creature, recently risen from its grave, can be killed by the sunlight, having yet to become strong enough to withstand the rays. However, as the vampire becomes more powerful, the sun’s effect lessens, and it will become an inanimate, statue-like corpse in the sunlight, reverting back to its vampire state when night returns. This is a useful method for holding a fully-developed Jiangshi in place during the day, though it will not kill it.
Monks practice kung fu in this ancient mural from the Shaolin Temple. Eventually the monks repurposed many of the elements from different kung fu forms to aid in the fight against vampires. (Alamy)
As a Jiangshi spends more time outside of the grave, it grows more intelligent and evil. At the peak of its evolution, a Jiangshi can be identified by its long, white hair and eyebrows, increased speed, greater ease of movement, and ability to jump higher and longer distances. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen Jiangshi levitate and even fly, but it is merely their skill in jumping that creates this illusion of flight.
Decapitation, cremation and lightning are the only ways to completely destroy a Jiangshi. The former is the preferred method among vampire hunters, as it is also the simplest. It is difficult to predict when and where lightning will occur, and it is the reason why Jiangshi are so afraid of loud noises, as thunder often indicates lightning. A drum is the most effective tool for generating this noise, and so many hunters choose to carry a small ganngu drum. Although vampire hunters are able to choose a less violent path to lay a Jiangshi to rest – using Taoist magic, a hunter could lead a Jiangshi to its familial home and inter the vampire using the proper burial rites – due to the effort and time it would take to perform this method, it was and still is very rarely undertaken.
As the Shaolin vampire hunters became more skilled and experienced in dealing with vampires, they would pass on their learnings to other parts of the East, just as their predecessors did. Lines of communication became more established and hunters from Japan and India told tales of vampires from their native countries.
A talent that is often associated with the vampire is a mystical allure that it uses to ensnare its victims. Popular vampiric fiction relates virginal fantasies of suave, sophisticated and desirable vampires that seductively swoop in to corrupt the purity and innocence of a young woman. In reality, this technique – known as glamoring – is less amplified, but compelling nonetheless. The powerful persuasive technique allows vampires to delve deep into the human psyche and prey on victims’ emotions. In actuality, vampires are using a type of low-level psychic control, or extrasensory perception, to project an illusion into the minds of victims.
The ability to shapeshift is common among descriptions of vampire encounters in Asia. Popularly, Jiangshi choose to present themselves as wolves when projecting shapeshifting images of themselves. Although vampires are traditionally linked to bats, the flying mammal is revered in China, and its Chinese translation – fu – is a homophone for the word for good fortune. The bat has represented luck and good fortune for centuries, and so it does not carry the same negative connotations as it does elsewhere. Psychic vampires such as these want to feed off extreme and raw human emotion.
Vampires are highly sexualized creatures. Where Jiangshi attacks are concerned, women are more at risk than men. Driven by their strong sexual desire, Jiangshi will gravitate towards female victims for sexual pleasure before attempting to ingest their qi. This is a result of the po’s effect on the Jiangshi. The sexual desire is extended to other vampire types in the East, such as the Indian Rakshasa and the Filipino Aswang, who present themselves as beautiful women to attract lustful and unsuspecting men.
The Aswang is a particularly ferocious creature, and is able to roam day and night to find prey. It favors the blood of children and seems to transform itself into an animal, such as a dog, cat or bird, to entice young victims. When it has taken its prey, it might replace the body with a corpse or a doppelganger that it has crafted.
Humans in Japan must be especially careful, as the native Gaki vampire chooses to impersonate living people, appearing as a loved one to evoke powerful feelings. These vampires are perhaps even more deadly, preying not on fear, but the love – and, in some cases, sexual desire – of their prey to trap their victim.
Vampire hunters in Asian countries are specially trained to deal with this psychic interference by focusing their qi and clearing their minds of emotion. They must be unwavering in their determination and aims, and they cannot let the allure of the vampire’s illusion and attempted penetration of their psyche distract them from the task at hand.
To this day, the Shaolin vampire hunters remain a highly specialist unit of vampire killer. No other hunting group in the world can match their skill, focus and discipline. While they have tried to disseminate their teachings across the continent of Asia, too few people are able successfully to commit to the training and achieve the level of proficiency that is required, and this breed of vampire hunter is still too scarce.
A statue of an Indian Rakshasa. Experts are still arguing whether this creature should be classified as a vampire or a demon. (J Marshall - Tribaleye Images / Alamy)
Though the hunters in China are managing to curb the spread of Qing-Dynasty Jiangshi across the country, no amount of Shaolin skill or Taoist magic is able to stem the spiritual transformation process, and Jiangshi continue to rise.
As transportation has developed, particularly during the 1900s, more and more Chinese citizens have moved out of the country and spread out across the globe. If these people are not properly honored in death, we may bear witness to the rise of a new wave of 20th-century-style Jiangshi in communities that are completely unqualified to deal with the threat. It is imperative that the Shaolin vampire hunters act now to impart their expertise on an international level to prepare us for the future. Time is against us, and the survival of the deadly Jiangshi seems inevitable.
Who’s laughing now?
[1] Other accepted variations of Jiangshi include kyong-shi (Japanese), geungshi (Cantonese) and gangshi (Korean).