The Chinese Zombie - Essay Example

The Chinese Zombie The term zombie is translated loosely to jiangshi in Chinese and could be used to mean human that is reincarnated, long presumed dead, a body that has devoid of the sense of humanity, now interested in bringing the humanity or rather planet to its knees by devouring them. Zombies are portrayed as “beings” operating in the universe that hardy understand or care to understand. In this speech, I focus on Chinese Zombie, also known as jiangshi, and how they influence Chinese cultural identity.

The account is based on chapter eight, Gothic monster and Chinese cultural identity: analysis of the note of ghoul, from the book "Thinking Dead: What the Zombie Apocalypse Means." In the Chinese culture, the Chinese zombies are categorized as either male or female for particular reasons. In the Note of Ghouls, resurrected zombies have their gender as male. The female zombie that existed was later on adjusted to a ghost. A reason for this could be that it was only those bodies that had least deterioration that could be resurrected back as zombies.

In most cases, it was only the bodies of tomb owners that were well preserved. Historical accounts of Chinese society indicate that it was of patriarchal nature, thus implying that tomb owners were male. Women ended up being buried alongside the owner just as mortuary bodies. It is thus presumed that the feeling of resentment for being sacrificed in favour of the tomb owner drove them to convert into lingering ghosts upon their deaths. Also, there exist accounts that assert that women bodies were used to cultivate the male zombies.

Generally, female gender was not given much credit as to the male gender. Cultural identity recounted in this novel is substantially devoid of equality, justice, and empowerment for women. However, different from female representation centuries ago, the female following in this story offers a fresh chance and question for some degree of control and empowerment in areas where women were not effectively represented. The author of The Note of Ghoul was born and raised up in mainland China, a situation that must have given him a sense of ownership to Chinese folk culture.

The Chinese fork culture has placed much emphasis on the dead and how they are buried. His work fits perfectly to the demand of ordinary Chinese people who are in search of contemporary cultural identity that attempts to explain the cultural practices conducted during the burial and after burial ceremonies. It is a common practice among Chinese culture and architectural works that a piece of wood of about six inches wide is fixed alongside the width of the door. This practice is carried out to keep away Zombies from entering the household.

Also, the Chinese people hold the belief that glutinous rice, also referred to as sticky rice, attract evil spirit of the Zombie. Therefore, to reduce the effectiveness of this sticky rice it must be mixed with regular rice. It is also a common practice in Chinese culture to bury their dead close to their hometown. Burying the dead very far away from home could cause their souls to miss home and thus convert to Zombies. Their dead bodies must also be prepared in a special manner before burial.

Failure to prepare the body could imply that the dead will rise as a Zombie and hop home. Work Cited Balaji, Murali. Thinking Dead: What the Zombie Apocalypse Means. , 2013. Print.