The Jiang Shi (Chinese: 殭屍; pronounced "Jee-ah-ng Sh-ih") is a recurring enemy in the Castlevania series. It is an undead creature from Chinese mythology. It first appeared in the parody game Kid Dracula and later as a secret and optional miniboss-like enemy in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
Origins[]
The Jiang Shi, conceived in China, is a vampire that leaps around, killing living things in order to absorb their life essence. They are said to be created when a person's soul fails to leave the body, usually due to an improper death, an act of suicide, or the simple desire for trouble. The name literally translates to "stiff corpse".
Their appearances range from ordinary to extraordinarily horrifying. Its hopping motions usually come from the intense rigor mortis and stiffness of the corpse. Their skin is usually pale green and furry, covered with mold, and they usually have long white hair (although some representations may leave this out).
(Mr. Vampire, 1985)
Jiang Shi represented in popular culture tend to wear gaudy funeral clothes, as if they are the dead bodies of famous persons in China.
The story of the Jiang Shi began from the folk practice of "Traveling a Corpse Over a Thousand Li", where families who could not afford much in the way of traveling expenses for a deceased family member who died far from home would hire a Taoist priest to transport the body. The priest would tack a Fulu talisman (Daoist incantation written on a piece of paper) onto the body's forehead, which would enable the body to find its way back to its original home for proper burial by hopping. Taoist priests would only transport the bodies at night, and would constantly ring bells to warn other nighttime pedestrians that a Jiang Shi was coming their way; the pedestrians, of course not wanting to be seen by a Jiang Shi, would vacate the area immediately. To protect themselves, the priests would wear a headdress that had a veil covering their faces; this way, the Jiang Shi they were transporting would travel alongside them without the temptation to devour the priest. Aside from the veils and talismans, a known weakness of Jiang Shi was sesame dumplings, due to it containing mochi rice and red beans, the food being potent enough to obliterate them.
Such a practice was popular in Xiangxi, where many people left home to find work in other areas. After they died, their corpses were transported back to their rural hometown using long bamboo rods. When the bamboo flexed up and down, the corpses appeared to be hopping in unison from a distance.
Appearances[]
Kid Dracula[]
A couple of Jiang Shi appear in the first stage, Kid Dracula's Castle. These are the only ones found in the entire game. They appear near the end of the entrance section of the level and enter the screen by performing long and high hops. They can be defeated with a single normal shot.
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Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia[]
The Jiang Shi is found at the end of the Large Cavern as a secret miniboss-like enemy and must be defeated in order to complete Irina's final quest: "An Unwelcome Guest". He moves by hopping around the room, attempting to bump into the player. After performing a few hops, the Jiang Shi will stop and cast a large white homing orb which does massive damage. Additionally, he will summon miniature versions of himself throughout the course of the fight to aid him. As the fight continues, it can become difficult to attack the Jiang Shi due to the overwhelming amount of homing orbs and hopping summons that crowd the screen. Fortunately, the orbs can be blocked with any Scutum glyph (all three Scutum tiers will block the orbs, although the Vol and Melio versions provide a wider area of protection and are better positioned) and the miniature Jiang Shi can be beaten normally.
This fight is the only place in the game where the Fidelis Mortus glyph can be absorbed. It seems more likely that it will cast this spell if there is some distance between the player after it casts an electric orb.
Jiang Shi will be knocked back after some hits if the next one hits him while he is either jumping or idle. He cannot be knocked back while he is casting the orb or the summoning glyph, though the hits will still increment the counter. Long ranged, multi-hitting glyphs like Melio Culter can knock him back very quickly, while Union Culter can be used as soon as he starts casting an orb to optimize damage and guarantee that he will be knocked back on the next jump or idle animation.
Once the Jiang Shi is defeated, he will freeze in place, immobilized by a Fulu talisman stuck on his forehead. If the Jiang Shi is attacked again while in this state, he will come back to life and the battle will start anew. However, all the player has to do at this point is to exit by the left side of the room (considering the door is still open).
Reawakening and defeating him again will award Experience and Attribute Points once more, but it is wise to wait for the MP to refill. Additionally, if he was defeated while casting an orb, his first action will be to cast it again without jumping even once, even if knocked back due to an idle animation, as soon as he gets up, he will attempt to cast it again. This creates an opportunity for the player to put him in a loop if Shanoa is strong enough to defeat him before he finishes the casting, quickly awarding Experience and Attribute Points. Death Rings can be safely used in this scenario, but they can be replaced with Master Rings or Hierophant Rings as Shanoa grows in power. Melio Falcis with Vis Fio is a good option for damaging him, while finishing him with the Venus glyph union will award attribute points to Slash, Fire and Light simultaneously, but other multi-elemental glyph unions can be used if one of these attributes is maximized. Once the Hearts have been depleted, Acerbatus and Nitesco are good multi-elemental glyphs for fishing blows.
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Item Data[]
| Item Data: Jiang Shi | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
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| Summon a lively assortment of the dead. | Attrib: Strike, Curse Consume: 80 MP |
ATK +5 |
Drop: Jiang Shi |
Effect: Summons Jiang Shi. Special: Curses enemies. | ||||
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to an interview with Hitoshi Akamatsu, creator and head director of Castlevania, and also in charge of Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse, it was originally intended that the Zombies that appear in towns at nighttime in Simon's Quest were to be jiangshi, with this design being somewhat retained, while at the same time being toned down to zombies.[1]
- The Jiang Shi in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is not considered to be a boss but just a powerful enemy. As such, it neither drops a Boss Medal nor a Magic Crystal will appear after defeating it, in addition to being able to be fought as many times as desired by awakening it again after being defeated.
- However, "Dissonant Courage", a music track generally used for boss battles, will play in the background while fighting it.
See also[]
- Fidelis Mortus (summon Jiang Shi familiars)
References[]
- ↑ Castlevania – Developer Commentary at Shmuplations.