Jiangshi: Daoist Cosmology in Mr. Vampire
<p>Move aside Draculas, Nosferatus, and Edward Cullens, please make way for the Jiangshi!</p>
<p>You may think you’re familiar with vampire lore. They wear cloaks, come from some kind of ennobled bloodline, sometimes sparkle, afraid of the sun, stake through the heart, but most importantly, and almost universally, they suck blood.</p>
<p>But that’s not always the case, the Jiangshi (僵尸, jiāngshī) are more akin to zombies than vampires. Literally meaning “Stiff Corpse,” they are reanimated corpses, suffering from a severe case of rigor mortis, forcing them to hop rather than walk because they’re joints have stiffened. Armed with abnormal strength, long nails, and, like their western counterparts, long, sharp teeth. However, these vampires do not suck blood, rather they suck <em>qi </em>(气, qì), the life force energy everything shares in the Daoist cosmology.</p>
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