Urban legends are tales which originated during a certain period of time, in a specific area
or based on cultural or religious beliefs.
There are hundreds of urban legends based on Chinese beliefs which can give you the
creeps any time of the day.
From beautiful women who lure you to them to suck out your soul to evil creatures and
deities that require sacrifices, Chinese urban legends are endless.
And they keep getting scarier with time like all urban legends do.
Although these urban legends can be a source of pure entertainment when you recite them
to your friends during campfires or sleepovers, how would you feel if a woman dressed in white
appeared at the foot of your bed at night or if a Jiangshi came after you, thirsty for
your life?
Here we have 5 of the eeriest and creepiest Chinese Urban legends we came across that
are sure to give you nightmares for days.
Nü gui- the woman in white Imagine you travelling home in the middle
of the night on an empty road, tired after a day of work.
And you suddenly feel a tingling sensation in the back of your neck as if somebody’s
following you.
But you turn around and see...
nothing.
After taking another few steps, you see something white from the corner of your eyes, and this
time you see the source that startled you- a woman, in white.
Nu gui is a long haired ghost of woman in a white or red dress, according to the Chinese
urban legend.
Although there are many stories about the origin of Nu gui, lore says she’s a vengeful
ghost risen from the death of a woman who had been wronged or sexually abused.
A Nu gui is said to come seeking revenge from lecherous men.
The male variant of Nu Gui is called Nan Gui.
But in some interpretations, the story is slightly different.
And this version says that Nu Gui is a woman who died by committing suicide after she was
abused by a man.
And that she comes to take her revenge from the man who wronged her and his family.
Nu Gui is also portrayed as a Succubus in some variations, a ghost who takes the appearance
of a beautiful woman who sucks the essence from men during sexual activity, usually in
their sleep.
To the present day, there are poor families in rural areas of China who dress their dead
daughters in red whose death had been caused by abuse, so that they would come back from
the dead to haunt and torment the men who abused them.
Nu Gui are often portrayed in Chinese, Japanese and Hong Kong horror movies and also invaded
the Hollywood cinema by their appearances in movies like The Grudge and The Ring.
Jiang Ziwen- the phantom ruler Worshipping and following the commands of
a ghost would seem like the worst nightmare for anybody.
But the cult of Jiang Ziwen who dedicated their lives to worshiping the ghost of their
ruler may say otherwise.
Jiang Ziwen’s origin story dates back to the Eastern Han Dynasty when he ruled the
Moling country which is known today as Nanjin.
After a violent, premature death by an encounter with a group of bandits, Jiang Ziwen returned
from the dead.
An arrogant and a tyrannical leader during his time, Jiang’s brutal nature during his
short lifespan is well known.
But the true ruthlessness and anger emerged much higher after Jiang Ziwen’s return from
death.
The local legends claim that his spirit was restless even after his death, and the ghost
of this arrogant ruler returned to Moling country to spread his most cherished power
back in his realm.
Jiang Ziwen’s ghost commanded the inhabitants of Moling to worship him as the deity of the
region, also known as a “Tudi.”
And thus was formed the cult f Jiang Ziwen which made the east of modern-Nanjin their
epicenter during the Period of the Six Dynasties during the 3rd to the 6th centuries.
It is believed that the ruler had received much more attention and worship from his followers
after he returned as a ghost than he was in real life.
The archeological evidence from 1930s in Nanking found more claims for the Jiang Ziwen cult
of ghost worshippers.
Mogwai/Mogui Chinese culture has many references to devils
and evil spirits who seek vengeance from humans.
And Mogui, also known as Mogwai are one of these devils from an urban legend which is
quite popular among Chinese people.
Mogui are a type of devils who are known to seek and cause harm to humans.
And their name Mogwai, which portrays their true nature, is a transliteration of a Cantonese
word meaning “evil spirit,” “devil”, “demon”, or “monster”.
Although depicted in certain movies and TV programs by western countries, as a cute,
non-harmful creature, the Chinese interpretation is completely different.
The Chinese belief is that the Mogui are evil creatures that can inflict great harm upon
humans.
This is also justified by the term Mogui of which “Mo” is derived from the Sanskrit
word “Mara” which in Hindu and Buddhist cultures refer to as “death.”
“Mara” is considered a being who can determine the fates of beings, giving them a cycle of
life with suffering through death and reincarnation.
And “Gui” in Chinese culture refers to ghosts, deceased souls, or spirits with no
mention of evilness in the term.
In the modern culture of China, the term Mogui has evolved to simply refer dead non-family
members who return from the dead as ghosts or evil spirits to seek revenge from people
who harmed them during their span of life.
And money sacrifices are made to date to Mogui by burning paper banknotes to provide them
money to fulfill their economy in the afterlife.
Mogwai are depicted in the Joe Dante movie “Gremlins” which was released in 1984
and also in its sequel “Gremlins 2: The new batch” in 1990 as good natured, furry
and cute god-like creatures, completely contradicting the Chinese lore.
Deity "Zhong Kui – Commander of ghosts Zhong Kui is the vanquisher of them all.
A figure of Chinese mythology, Zhong Kui is said to have the ability of commanding 80000
demons and is regarded as the vanquisher of ghosts, demons and other evil beings.
According to the origin story, Zhong Kui had travelled to the capital with his friend Du
Ping to participate in the imperial examinations.
After achieving top class results from the examination the emperor of the capital had
stripped Zhong of his honors due to his disfigured appearance.
And fuming with anger and humiliation, Zhong Kui had taken his life by breaking his head,
hurling himself to the palace gate.
The corpse of Zhong Kui' who had died right on the steps to the palace had been buried
by Du Ping.
Witnessing this unfolding of events, the Hell King or the Judge saw the true potential in
Zhong Kui and decided to give him the title, King of the ghosts.
And his job became to hunt, capture, and rule ghosts for eternity.
The most popular tale on Zhong Kui dates back to Song Dynasty where the Emperor Xuanzong,
suffering from an illness had a dream of two ghosts.
The smaller of the two ghosts stole a flute owned by the emperor and the imperial consort
Yang Guifei’s purse.
The other ghost after catching the smaller ghost, tore out his eye and ate it.
And he also introduced himself as Zhong Kui to the emperor saying that he had sworn to
protect the empire from evil forces.
And the emperor when awakened, realized that he had recovered from his sickness completely
and therefore ordered for a painting of Zhong Kui to be drawn.
This image is still used as the depiction of Zhong Kui- the commander of all evil.
Jiangshi – the hopping corpse A hopping zombie that kills you in your sleep
to suck out your life force can be the creepiest and the most horrifying Chinese urban legend
ever.
Known by Jiangshi in Chinese culture, this creature is portrayed as a vampire, ghost,
or a zombie who moves around by hopping with outstretched arms as if they are going to
grab you.
A Jiangshi is a corpse which has risen from the dead, or in other words, reanimated back
to life.
They are said to kill any living beings to absorb their life force which is also known
as “qi” in Chinese culture.
Just like vampires, the Jiangshi comes out only at night and sleep in coffins or any
other dark places like caves during the day time.
These ghosts can take a range of appearances depending on the duration they have been dead.
Therefore a Jiangshi formed by a corpse of a recently deceased person may look human-like
while a corpse that has decayed over a long period would look horrible with rotting and
dangling flesh.
The Jiangshi are depicted in cultural artifacts as a stiff corpse or a creature dressed in
the official garments from the Qing Dynasty.
They wear a uniform like robe, a tall, rimmed hat with a round-top and a paper talisman
hanging off their forehead.
Jiangshi have long white hair and greenish white skin with fungus or mould growing on
their rotting flesh.
Their limbs are said to be so stiff so that they can’t bend them and thus justifies
the hopping and outstretched arms.
The origin of Jiangshi comes from the Chinese folk practice of transporting a corpse over
a long distance.
The tale goes that once a person dies far away from home, people would hire a Taoist
priest to reanimate the corpse by a ritual, and the priest would teach the corpse to hop
its way back home.
The story also says that the priest would ring bells before the Jiangshi is transported
in the night because it was believed to be a bad luck for the living to see a Jiangshi.
It’s said that this was all done because otherwise the souls of the people who die
away from home would feel homesick.
But in reality, the corpses were arranged upright, with the sides tied to bamboo rods
and were carried by two men from the front and back.
And this, when viewed from a distance appeared as if the corpse was hopping while it was
moved.
There are several methods to counter a Jiangshi such as the use of mirrors, items made of
peach wood, a rooster’s call, hooves of a black donkey, fire and many more.
The use of a mirror is quite popular as the lore says that Jiangshis are scared of their
own reflection.
So now if you ever come across a Jiangshi, you know exactly what to do!