Jiang Shi

Jiang Shi are undead beings rooted in Chinese folklore, occupying a space somewhere between zombies, ghosts, and vampires. In the Dragon Ball universe, they maintain their traditional depiction: pale skin, red makeup on their cheeks, and clothing from the Qing Dynasty era. Those created through witchcraft are distinguished by a paper talisman affixed to their forehead, which serves as the mechanism of control.

According to Chinese legend, a Jiang Shi is created when a person's soul fails to leave the body after death, either because of unfinished business or an unnatural cause of death. A third origin involves a trained spellcaster animating a corpse to hop back to its homeland. These ghouls traditionally move by hopping with their arms outstretched, unable to walk normally. They rest in coffins or dark caves during the day and emerge at night to absorb the ki, or life essence, of living creatures.

Jiang Shi first appear in the Dragon Ball manga during the preliminaries of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, where two of them are seen hopping one after another in the background. A Jiang Shi also appears among the living dead who attack Mr. Satan during the events of Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, when Janemba's interference with Other World caused the dead to spill onto Earth.

Their most significant story role came in Dragon Ball Super, when Yurin, a former student of the Crane School, used witchcraft to transform the students of Tien's dojo and even Master Roshi into Jiang Shi as revenge against Tien. The talisman-based transformation brought out the full fighting potential of each victim. Roshi at 100% MAX Power proved strong enough to battle both Tien and Goku simultaneously, impressive enough that it prompted Goku to recruit the old master for the Tournament of Power.

Removing the talisman from a victim's forehead reverses the transformation for weaker individuals. For someone as powerful as Roshi, however, it required overwhelming force. Goku fired a Kamehameha directly at the possessed Roshi, and the sheer damage burned the talisman away and expelled the sinister energy from his body.

The Jiang Shi's influence on Dragon Ball extends beyond their direct appearances. Chiaotzu's character design was inspired by the Jiang Shi, which explains his perpetually youthful appearance and traditional Chinese outfit. Android 19 shares similar visual traits, including pale skin and the ability to steal energy, drawing a thematic connection to the ki-draining nature of the folklore originals.

In the video game Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, Jiang Shi appear as enemies in three varieties: green-clad martial artists, red-clad swordsmen, and blue-clad bombers. Unlike the folklore depiction, these game versions can walk and run rather than hop, taking liberties with the source material for gameplay purposes.