Jiang-Shi
From the Castlevania Wiki, the Castlevania wiki
[edit] Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
| Jiang Shi | |
| |
| Game | Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia |
|---|---|
| Enemy Number | 104 |
| Description | This blood-sucking creature crossed the sea from the East. |
| Level | |
| Experience | 2525 |
| Hit Points | 6500 |
| Abilities | |
| Attack Power | |
| Tolerance | Dark |
| Weakness | Slashing, Fire, Holy |
| Timestop affect | |
| Drop Items | Fidelis Mortus (Glyph, absorbed when he casts it)) |
| Steal Items | |
| Location | |
| Soul Details | |
| Skill Points | |
[edit] Creature Origins
The Jiang-Shi (pronounced "chong-shee"), conceived in China, is a vampire that leaps around, killing living things in order to absorb their life essence (Known is China as "chi"). 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 "Jiang-Shi" can also be pronounced geungsi (Cantonese), gangshi (Korean), and most popularly kyong-shi (Japanese). However pronounced, the name literally translates to "stiff corpse."
Their appearances range from ordinary (Like a just-killed corpse) to extraordinarily horrifying; its hopping motions come usually from the intense rigor mortis, and stiffness, of the corpse. Another thing to note is that their skin is usually pale green and furry, covered with mold; and that they usually have long white hair (Although their representations in most popular culture leave this out for some reason). 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 travellng 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 talisman to 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.
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, believing they would be homesick if buried in unfamiliar territory. When the bamboo flexed up and down, the corpses appeared to be hopping in unison from a distance. Some people speculate that the stories about Jiang-Shi were originally made up by smugglers who, like in an episode of Scooby-Doo, disguised their illegal activities as corpse transportation and wanted to scare off local law enforcement.
[edit] Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
The Jiang-Shi is found at the end of the Large Cavern as a secret boss, and also must be defeated to earn Irina's final mission. It moves only by hopping around the room, hoping to hit Shanoa directly. After several hops, the Jiang-Shi will stop, and cast a large white homing orb which does massive damage. After the orb, he will summon a miniature Jiang-Shi using a glyph spell, which can be absorbed in order to earn the same summon spell. As the fight continues, it can become difficult to hit the Jiang-Shi because of the crowd of homing orbs and his constantly-hopping summons. They can be countered, however, as the orbs can be blocked with Melio Scutum, and the miniature Jiang-Shis can be beaten. Once the Jiang-Shi is defeated, he freezes in place, defeated by a small piece of paper with a spell fastened to his forehead. If the Jiang-Shi is hit again, he will come back to life, and the battle begins anew. Nitesco is very useful against him, although if you want the Jiang-Shi to stay dead, it is better to switch to a single-hit glyph, such as Melio Falcis.
