Nascent Jiangshi

The Recently Deceased Jiangshi arises when a Chinese mortal dies in non-ritual circumstances such as murder, accident or death far from home without descendants performing proper funerary rites. After twenty-four to seventy-two hours the body begins the transition with muscular rigidity beyond normal rigor mortis, slight bluish color on lips and nails and occasional post-mortem shallow breathing. Incorrect burial without seals on the coffin, funerary coins on the eyes or jade in the mouth accelerates the process in rural wake rooms of northern and central China.

In this initial phase the powers are minimal. Residual senses allow hearing and smelling nearby humans without active response while rigidity progresses from flexible to almost rigid in five to seven days. Involuntary intermittent breathing reveals the start of the transition but the body remains passive without jumping. A Taoist priest can stop the process with correct rites before it develops full rigidity in weeks and becomes a hopping-corpse.

The symbology includes everyday clothing from the moment of death, white funerary candles, bronze censer, name tablet, Qing coins on the eyes and shouyi papers. The element is neutral yin-earth and the number seven represents the initial days of the wake. It relates as transformation toward the jiangshi-hopping-corpse, variant of jiangshi-blood-eater-emperor and generic jiangshi form id one hundred one. The family may notice subtle signs but attributes them to grief until a priest intervenes.