Jiangshi
The jiangshi is the reanimated corpse of Chinese folklore, a rigid body driven by the residue of its own soul to attack the living and drain their vital energy. It was described in detail by Qing-dynasty writers and explained by the Dutch sinologist J. J. M. de Groot through the Chinese dread of delayed burial and exposed corpses. Hong Kong cinema of the 1980s turned it into the hopping, talisman-stuck figure known worldwide. Mindless, physically decayed and stopped only by ritual or force, it is East Asia's main native counterpart to the zombie.12
- a paper talisman (fulu) fixed to the forehead
- peach wood
- mirrors
- a rooster's crow
- glutinous rice
- black dog's blood
- fire
- seven jujube stones nailed into the back (Yuan Mei)
- holding one's breath, since it is blind and tracks by breathing
- a raised door threshold
Yaqala nini ukuvela?
1789Discussed in Ji Xiaolan's Yuewei Caotang Biji (c. 1789-1798) and Yuan Mei's Zi Bu Yu
Okushiwo yimithombo
Folklore describes greenish-white skin, sometimes furred with mould, and anything from fresh rigor to advanced decay12
It kills with brute strength and absorbs its victims' qi; blood-drinking is a modern borrowing from Western vampires12
Ubungayidlula ngokugijima?
Isigaba sejubane esisuka ekuchazweni yimithombo (kuyagxuma), hhayi isilinganiso.
Imithombo
Wonke amaqiniso kuleli khasi avela kule mithombo, abhalwe ngamazwi ethu. Ubone iphutha? Sitshele ku-hello@zombiewiki.app.
Ro-langs
Xiangxi walking corpses
Zombi (Haitian)
Strigoi
Vampir (South Slavic)
Abhartach
Arnold Paole
Churel