Almost every culture has legends of restless human corpses that come back to terrify the living. What do they want? Zombies want to eat our brains, vampires want to drink our blood, and ghosts want revenge. The legendary Chinese ghost called Jiangshi makes more sense because what the dead want is their life force back, and they will take yours. What's really fascinating are the details that gave rise to the legend, which have to do with old Chinese funerary practices, and priests who were seen as controlling the movements of a corpse. Still, corpses are stiff and awkward, so the Jiangshi moves by hopping. That's how you recognize them. The claws and sharp teeth are a dead giveaway, too.
Dr. Emily Zarka of Monstrum explains the origins of the Jiangshi and how the story has undergone alterations in the modern era as they merged somewhat with Western vampire legends for popular Hong Kong movies. Not only do you get the origin story of the Jiangshi, you also get some horror film recommendations.
Comments (1)