In the *Zhengyi Fu Suan*, there are records regarding zombies: zombies are categorized into four types—white僵 (bai jiang), black僵 (hei jiang), green僵 (lv jiang), and flying僵 (fei jiang).
**White僵:** These are essentially the typical mummies unearthed from ancient graves. Due to their extreme age, all moisture has long since evaporated from their bodies, leaving the corpses extremely fragile. Indeed, some mummies disintegrate into dust the moment they are lifted from their tombs. As a result, they rarely undergo any transformation into undead beings. Even in cases where such transformation does occur, their destructive power remains minimal, making them easy to subdue or destroy.
**Black Jiangshi:** When unearthed, black jiangshi are typically wet corpses, although on rare occasions they may be dry—though such cases are extremely uncommon. Their bodies accumulate vast quantities of corpse toxins, which cause their skin to darken. Once the transformation process begins, these toxins become active, prompting the growth of black-colored corpse hair across the body. At this stage, the corpse fully becomes a true black jiangshi. The hair of a black jiangshi is exceptionally tough, even impervious to blades and bullets, and it possesses immense attacking power. If a person is scratched or bitten by a black jiangshi, the toxins can rapidly spread throughout the victim’s body. Without immediate treatment, the individual will succumb to the toxins and transform into a zombie themselves. When people refer to zombie outbreaks, they are typically speaking of black jiangshi.
**Green僵:** After being buried underground for many years, a corpse may still grow hair and nails, and even develop a greenish fuzz on its body. Such a corpse becomes a Green僵, commonly known in folklore as the “green-haired zombie.” These zombies generally do not transform or attack people, but when they appear, widespread plagues and disasters often follow.
There is indeed a true story about a green-haired zombie that occurred during the Republic of China era in a small town in southern China. A group of young men, shirtless and sweating under the scorching midday sun, were digging a well. Suddenly, one of the younger workers at the bottom of the pit stammered, “F-f-fourth U-uncle! D-down here… there’s a c-coffin!”
The leader of the group was the head of the Zhao clan in town, known respectfully as Fourth Uncle. A man of great prestige and knowledge, upon hearing about the coffin, he immediately ordered everyone to stop digging. He then summoned several strong young men to lift the coffin out. Everyone turned their eyes to Fourth Uncle, who now looked somewhat at a loss, uncertain whether they should continue digging.
An older worker then spoke up, “Digging up a coffin isn’t necessarily a bad omen. After all, the word ‘coffin’ (guan) sounds like ‘promotion and wealth’ (guan cai). Perhaps there’s a rare treasure inside.” Hearing this, Fourth Uncle ordered a few brave men to open the coffin.
Inside the coffin, however, there was no rare treasure as people had imagined. Instead, there lay a corpse covered in green fuzz. The fur was damp and emitted a strange, foul stench. Everyone was stunned. Fourth Uncle felt this was a matter that should be reported to the town mayor, as he himself was merely a labor leader. Whether this green-haired zombie was an omen of good or ill fortune was unclear, and whether to continue digging should be decided by the mayor.
The mayor arrived quickly upon hearing the news and saw the green-haired zombie himself. He too was uncertain about what to do. Fourth Uncle said, “Mayor, this green-haired zombie is a bad omen. Perhaps we should choose another location to dig the well.”
Seeing the green-haired zombie, the mayor also felt uneasy and was inclined to move the site. However, the town was severely short of water. Over twenty thousand residents relied on a single well for survival, to the point where water was more precious than oil. Around the well, people queued twenty-four hours a day, every minute. Now that they had finally found a new water source right in the center of town, how could they abandon it so easily?
After a moment of thought, the mayor said to his men, “Go fetch the Maoshan Taoist priest. Let him take a look and decide.” The so-called Maoshan Taoist priest mentioned by the mayor was actually a fraud in town. He had studied Maoshan techniques for just two months under a traveling Taoist and then claimed to have attained divine powers, sent by the Jade Emperor to save people from suffering. He opened a Taoist hall in town, deceiving the ignorant for a living.
This fraud actually had a stroke of luck. On his first job, he gained fame. There was a wealthy man surnamed Zhang in town who suffered from a severe skin disease, causing unbearable itching. He had sought treatment everywhere, spending a fortune, but his condition never improved. Desperate, he turned to the fake Taoist. The Taoist had learned nothing from the traveling priest except how to wave a peach-wood sword around. However, he remembered a folk remedy the traveling priest had used for skin diseases: crush the white part of scallions, mix with honey, and apply to the affected area.
The Taoist applied this remedy to Zhang and waved his peach-wood sword around dramatically. Then he said, “Mr. Zhang, you have been possessed by a snake spirit. Today I have exorcised it with my magic. In three days, you will no longer itch.”
Just as he was about to finish his performance, suddenly a colorful snake fell from the ceiling, landing right on the Taoist’s head!
The Taoist was nearly scared to death but managed to keep his composure in front of the Zhang family. He first asked everyone to step back, then used his peach-wood sword to flick the snake away and kill it with a stick before calling the family back in.
Everyone in the Zhang household witnessed this and was utterly amazed, praising the Taoist endlessly, as if waves of admiration were flowing without end. They truly believed he had real powers and had subdued the snake spirit haunting their home. Although the skin disease wasn’t cured, the itching did subside after using the remedy for three days, so naturally, Zhang believed the Taoist’s words. From then on, the Taoist’s reputation spread far and wide.
Now, the Taoist arrived at the well-digging site and, after a show of examination, told the mayor, “This zombie must be burned as soon as possible. Otherwise, once it fully transforms, it will bring disaster upon the town. Everyone’s lives will be in danger.”
At that moment, a monk emerged from the crowd. He was dressed like an ascetic wanderer. After reciting a Buddhist chant, the monk said to the Taoist, “Brother Taoist, this zombie must not be burned.”
The Taoist priest was highly respected in the area, almost always obeyed without question. People treated him like a deity. For a ragged, wandering monk to publicly challenge his authority naturally enraged him, though he had to maintain composure.
The Taoist gave a slight bow and coldly asked, “And what wisdom does the master have to share?”
The monk, unaware of the Taoist’s inner anger, continued, “From what I know, this green-haired zombie will not rise to harm people. The best solution is to return it to its original place. Burning it might cause a disaster.”
The Taoist sneered, “Since ancient times, it has been the Taoists’ duty to exorcise ghosts and subdue demons. When did monks, who renounce worldly matters, start meddling in this? And what proof do you have that this green-haired zombie won’t harm people? If this zombie does cause deaths, who will bear the responsibility?” His words were sharp and authoritative, leaving the monk momentarily speechless.
The surrounding crowd also jeered, “Hey monk, are you short on money? Why are you here deceiving people? Get lost! Don’t disgrace yourself here!” The shouts grew louder.
Though the monk didn’t know any exorcism techniques, he was a well-traveled man, knowledgeable and experienced. His advice was given in good faith, but he hadn’t expected such hostility from the townspeople. Sighing deeply, he turned and left amidst the jeers and curses.
Trusting the Maoshan Taoist, the mayor immediately ordered the green-haired zombie to be burned publicly as instructed.
The next day after the green-haired zombie was burned, the town was struck by a catastrophic plague. Infected individuals bled from every orifice and died within two hours. Within three days, the entire town had become a ghost town. All over twenty thousand residents were dead, and every corpse was covered in green fuzz.
In truth, if the townspeople had listened to the monk and quickly reburied the green-haired zombie, the plague could have been avoided. This can also be explained scientifically: the green-haired zombie’s body contained a highly contagious virus. If the corpse remained exposed for too long, the virus would gradually spread into the air and infect people or livestock.
Trusting the Taoist’s words, the townspeople burned the zombie, accelerating the virus’s spread, which naturally led to a massive, catastrophic outbreak.
The appearance of green-haired zombies is usually caused by environmental degradation or the transformation of once auspicious feng shui into a cursed site. Such environmental deterioration or feng shui corruption is often the result of human activity. In my opinion, the townspeople, in their process of digging the well, must have disrupted the area’s feng shui, altering the flow of underground energy, which led to the corpse’s transformation into a green-haired zombie.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage