Perhaps Asia most iconic undead creature of folklore. Due to the influence of Hong Kong cinema, it is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in the official garments from the Qing dynasty. Although the pronunciation of jiangshi varies in different East Asian countries, all of them refer to the Chinese version of vampire. It is commonly identified by its hopping or leaping. In folkloric accounts it is capable of giving chase by running, and if sufficiently ancient or if it has absorbed sufficient Qi; life energy, it is capable of flight.
Written instances describe them as follows: “jiāngshī came from the hills, soaring through the air, to devour the infants of the people” It is believed that the jiangshi and its representation in the imagination was derived from the tradition of “corpse-driving” a practice involving the repatriation of the corpses of dead laborers and soldiers across the Xiang province to their hometowns for burial in family gravesites. Multiple corpses would be tied to pairs of bamboo poles to be carried on the shoulders of Taoist priests. Working in pairs these corpse-drivers would transport these bodies over thousands of miles to their ancestral villages. These monks often operated at night to avoid panicking crowds during the day, This however served to amplify the fearful associations of their trade and seen from a distance gave the impression of hopping corpses.
