jiangshi means A reanimated corpse in Chinese legend, which moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched, and kills living creatures to absorb their life force. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
jiangshi is pronounced /d͡ʒiˌɑŋˈʃiː/.
Why “jiangshi” is a great word
JIANGSHI — [Noun] A reanimated corpse in Chinese folklore that moves by hopping with outstretched arms and drains the life force of the living. Borrowed from Mandarin 殭屍/僵尸 (jiāngshī), literally meaning 'stiff corpse'. Unlike the aristocratic vampire, which thirsts for blood, or the shambling zombie, which craves flesh, the jiangshi is a creature of ritual failure and arrested decay, animated by a stolen breath of qi. It is the percussive thump-thump-thump echoing through a moonlit bamboo grove, the tattered hem of a Qing-dynasty official's robe swinging in rigid rhythm, and the frantic flutter of a yellow talisman on its forehead—a bureaucratic ghost condemned to a perpetual, hopping audit of the living world.
Etymology
Borrowed from Mandarin 殭屍／僵尸 (jiāngshī).
noun
- A reanimated corpse in Chinese legend, which moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched, and kills living creatures to absorb their life force.