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Split SoulAccording to Chinese belief, each person has two souls: the higher soul, or hun, and the lower soul, or p’o. After death, the hun ascends to join the spirit world. But if a person lived a bad life, their p’o would remain earthbound, trapped in the body, which would be reanimated as a jiangshi. Liars, cheats, and those who committed suicide were particularly vulnerable. What happened after death was also significant, however. A blameless person who was not given a proper funeral could become a jiangshi, and an animal leaping over the corpse could also condemn the unfortunate soul to join the ranks of the undead. The utmost care had to be taken when preparing the body for burial, lest the deceased’s spirit was sullied: even leaning over a body was considered risky.

Bound to hopThe name “hopping ghost” stems from the Chinese tradition of burying the dead in special garments that tied the legs together. The creature, having risen from the dead in its funeral garb, would then have to hop to move around. Another explanation is that the dead were often transported from the towns where they worked back to the place of their birth. Carried upright on bamboo stretchers, the corpses appeared to be bobbing up and down.

FerociouS FiendThe jiangshi’s appearance ranged from humanlike to gruesome, with a long black tongue and eyeballs hanging out of their sockets. Jiangshi were said to be blind, foul-smelling, and entirely covered with long green or white hair. Their incredibly long eyebrows could be used to lasso their victims, who would then be ripped limb from limb and devoured.

vanquiShing a vampireMany folk tales and legends featured the jiangshi—usually, unsuspecting travelers would disturb the creature’s rest and meet a horrible fate. There were ways to keep the creature at bay, though. Loud noises, such as thunder, could kill them. Straw and chicken blood would repel them, garlic burned their skin, and piles of sticky rice would snare them. They liked to count, so red peas were a useful distraction. Many stories featured a mythical figure called Zhong Kui, who battled the fearsome jiangshi. Cheated out of first place in his civil service exams, he was said to have committed suicide in front of the Imperial Palace. The emperor honored him with an imperial burial, and out of gratitude Zhong Kui’s spirit promised to rid the world of ghosts and demons with his magic sword. His fierce image is often painted on Chinese houses as a talisman of good luck.

Jiangshi— chineSe hopping ghoStS —

covered in hair, with razor-sharp talons and daggerlike teeth, these lost souls are often called chinese vampires. named jiangshi, or “hopping ghosts”, they would attack at night, leaping from their graves to suck the life force from their hapless victims.

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Jiangshi

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