Jiang Shi: The Terrifying Chinese Vampires of the Qing Dynasty
These undead creatures appear in a large number of Chinese films.
The world is full of legends and mythologies about supernatural beings.
Who hasn’t heard stories about werewolves, ghosts, and other “monsters”?
In China, they also have myths, and one of the most disturbing is the Jiang Shi vampires.
It is nothing new that vampire mythology exists in most countries.
Each culture they have its form and characteristics, and the one we are most familiar with in the West is the figure of the Nosferatu.
Does the name Dracula ring a bell?
Vampires have also existed under different names in Asia.
In China, they are called Jiang Shi.
They are not only considered bloodsuckers as we know them but as a kind of vampire god (or rather demons).
They have been spoken about for thousands of years, so it is a myth as deep-rooted as any we may have in Europe or other parts of the world.
What Are Jiang Shi Vampires?
The Jiang Shi are beings that fall into the undead category and are the Chinese version of the vampires we all know.
According to legends, they feed on the living and infect them to turn them undead.
A very striking difference if we compare them to the vampires of the West is that the Jiang Shi are excellent jumpers.
Traditional vampires fly or move quickly, but the Jiang Shi jump at high speed.
According to the stories, it is tough to see them moving.
They can only be seen when they are already on top of someone and are as dangerous as any vampire we have seen in the movies.
The Origin Of The Jiang Shi
Jiang Shi’s vampires may be thought to be the consequence of evil forces or the devil himself.
However, the legend began about two thousand years ago before unified China.
The history and origin of the Jiang Shi are well known, unlike other mythological monsters.
It is known that its head began with word of mouth from the people.
It all started when Emperor Qin Shi Huang was about to conquer and unify China.
His goal was to unite all the existing states and make one powerful and sovereign.
Many are convinced that these vampires of Chinese mythology would never have existed without this emperor.
During Qin Shi Huang’s wars of conquest, they sent many people to the borders of each state to stop the invasions.
They had to travel far from their homes, and many died fighting.
Returning the bodies of those killed in battle was very complicated; most of the time, they were buried or left where they died.
The families of those who perished in the distant battles had a tough time not being able to bury their loved ones.
For this reason, they compensated by performing funeral rituals by Taoist priests.
Taoist rituals consisted of contacting the souls and bodies of those who had died in the war.
The priests gave instructions to the dead so that they could return to their homes.
They made the souls return to the deceased bodies and begin the homecoming.
Since the Taoist priests assumed that the bodies would already be stiff and difficult to move, so they told them to jump back.
In this sense, it is understandable that the term Jiang Shi translates as “stiff corpse.”
What happened is that the bodies did not return to their homes, and the relatives assumed that something had gone wrong in the ritual.
They had absolute trust in the Taoist priests, so they thought that something evil had gotten in the way of the return of their loved ones.
Rumors began to be heard that the bodies had been possessed by evil spirits instead of their original soul.
In other words, the dead contacted in the rituals had become demons.
Why Is Jiang Shi Considered A Vampire?
The belief that those killed in small battles had become evil entities spread throughout much of China.
It said that they roamed only at night, and their appearance was of an extreme and terrifying pallor.
Unlike Western vampires, they could not escape from their graves.
They could only roam the world if they had not been properly buried.
That is prevalent in wars, so it thought thousands of undead rose from where they had died fighting.
It also believed that the moonlight reanimated them and allowed them to grow at night.
Their appearance coincided with that given to vampires in Eastern Europe.
They had extreme pallor, long nails, and very sharp teeth resembling a shark’s.
Their breath was foul-smelling, and their eyes glowed in the dark.
However, the difference with other better-known vampires was that they did not drink blood.
What Does Jiang Shi Feed On?
When we talk about vampires, we think of creatures with long fangs that drink the blood of their victims.
In the case of the Chinese Jiang Shi vampires, it is not the blood they seek.
Jiang Shi feeds on the energy and life force of their prey.
According to Chinese culture, a person is deprived of life energy, and they die soon after.
It is life for Chinese vampires, so they must absorb it from the unwary who fall into their clutches.
That is why it is important not to walk at night in places where Jiang Shi is suspected.
How Do You Protect People From Jiang Shi?
The methods of protection from Jiang Shi vampires differ from the usual ones.
If we encounter one of these vampires, one of the most basic ways is to throw a bag of gold coins on the ground.
You have to leave the gold coins scattered all over the floor, which will make the vampire stop and count all the coins there.
The coin system is similar to a belief in Europe, but exchanging the coins for mustard seeds.
Vampires are weak in counting things thrown on the floor in China and the West.
Another more straightforward protection method is wearing a symbol related to Taoism.
If Jiang Shi attacks someone, he has to put the logo on his forehead, and he will be paralyzed for a while.
He will not be able to jump or make movements that can use to flee.
The Jiang Shi In Asian Culture
In China, the Jiang Shi is an integral part of their history and has become a good subject matter for novels and movies.
Chinese vampire stories have been written longer than people think. Some of the earliest writings date back to the Qing dynasty.
For centuries these mythological beings have been used to embody evil.
As the Jiang Shi can shape-shift, they have been used to embody many different entities associated with the devil and all things evil.
Because of their decayed appearance, where it is clear that they are dead, many have theorized whether they are vampires or zombies.
They do not fly or float like normal vampires but jump.
That may seem funny to many until they encounter one of these evil creatures.
They also do not drink blood but “suck” their victims’ energy until they kill them and turn them into Jiang Shi.
Some think that directly what they absorb is people’s souls.
Once they have removed and fed on the souls of their victims, they rise to absorb the souls of other people.
Sources:
https://es.wikipedia.org
https://www.ancient-origins.es
https://leyendasceniza.wordpress.com
Thanks for reading!
Rocio Becerra