A jiāngshī, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. 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. 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 vampires.
Two people dressed up as jiāngshī on Halloween in Osaka. Here, the Fulu is hanging from the back of the head, though typically Fulu hangs from the forehead.
Official uniform of a mandarin from Qing dynasty, which jiangshi are usually portrayed wearing
Jiangshi fiction, or goeng-si fiction in Cantonese, is a literary and cinematic genre of horror based on the jiangshi of Chinese folklore, a reanimated corpse controlled by Taoist priests that resembles the zombies and vampires of Western fiction. The genre first appeared in the literature of the Qing dynasty and the jiangshi film is a staple of the modern Hong Kong film industry. Hong Kong jiangshi films like Mr. Vampire and Encounters of the Spooky Kind follow a formula of mixing horror with comedy and kung fu.
Sammo Hung directed Encounters of the Spooky Kind and produced Mr. Vampire.
