» distribution laws have put paid to that.
Numbers for pirated copies of Western horror
films sold in China have rocketed, yet the rules
remain – the thirst is there but not the reprieve.
However, as with everything in life, silver linings
abound for some. For those of you who enjoy
an intriguing thriller but avoid the horror genre
like, well, like the walking dead, then fear not.
China has, perhaps inadvertently, provided.
Despite collectivising many films under the
moniker of ‘horror’, most of these could be
better described as a ‘drama-mystery-fantasythriller’ (were that even a real thing). Certainly,
a film like the 2012 release Design of Death
(Sha Sheng), the story of a Sichuan village
which fractures after a much-maligned resident
is found murdered, gets points for suspense,
a well-crafted reveal and some gorgeous
cinematography, but in a film listed as a horror
movie, there is a distinct lack of heart-stopping,
Why do Chinese Vampires Hop?
We couldn’t discuss Chinese horror without
looking into a truly peculiar and wholly Chinese
phenomenon. In this month of Hallowe’en I am
of course referring to the legendary ‘hopping
vampires’, or jiangshi.
These re-animated corpses are traditionally
pictured in official robes from the Qing dynasty,
their arms held-out in front, terrorising the living,
and hopping madly from place to place like the
world’s nastiest bunny rabbit. The word jiangshi
literally translates to ‘stiff corpse’ and it is this
inflexibility which forces them to hop in such a
juddering, shuddering and bizarre way. Chinese
culture does not differentiate between vampires
and zombies, so the terms are often used
interchangeably to describe the jiangshi. However,
these monsters are not your average member of
the undead community. Instead of craving flesh
and blood like their Western counterparts, jiangshi
feed off the life force (the qi) inside all of us; more
of a spiritual hunger than a physical one.
It’s believed ancient burial rites gave birth to the
hopping nature of Chinese zombies. In days
gone by when an individual died a long way from
home their families would pay Taoist monks to
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wide-eyed terror. Likewise, the recent Painted
Skin movies, similarly classed as a horror flick
here in China, are more akin to a supernatural,
fantasy-esque romance, epic in venture yet
ultimately just fables on love and lust. None
of these movies, as engrossing and technically
brilliant as they might be, could possibly sate
a true horror-junkie; there’s just too much
red tape in the way, and not the cool bloodspattered type.
This problem is not a new one. The great
Chinese filmmaker Zhou Dan bemoaned all
the way back in the ‘80s of ‘laymen guiding
experts’, and questioned the ‘death-grip on
the control of artists by non-artistic officials’.
More recently, in a 2010 essay, film critic Yang
Jian poeticised the mood, claiming ‘Chineselanguage films have to dance in shackles.’ And
for the time being, it seems the dance must go
on.
•
transport the body back to be buried alongside
their ancestors. Bulk transportation demanded
new ways of ferrying the dead; two men would
tie the corpses in an upright position to two
bamboo poles and carry them down the road on
their shoulders. As the bamboo flexed the corpses
would, from a distance, appear to bounce.
Mr. Vampire, a Hong Kong franchise from the
80’s, is an excellent example for anybody wishing
to see these hopping crazy critters in action. They
also feature heavily in the 2004 film Shaolin Vs
Evil Dead. For a more historical look at the origins
of this phenomenon, check out Strange Stories
from a Chinese Studio by the early Qing writer Pu
Songling.
Should you come across any jiangshi this
Hallowe’en then fear not, S247 has done the
research and come up with some tips for defeating
the undead; scrawl a spell on some yellow paper
and stick it to the vampire’s forehead (swap
your silver bullets and stakes for post-it notes
and you’re golden); mirrors; handbells; raised
doorsteps (yeah); a broom (really?); and finally,
glutinous rice (not sure how this one would work
though so use with caution).
You’re welcome.
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