Chapter 36: Meeting Uncle Ying Again, Discussing Jiangshi with Uncle Ying
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When Chen Mo first saw Uncle Ying, who was nearing fifty, he was still somewhat taken aback.
The Uncle Ying standing before him was nothing like the Taoist priest from the zombie films in his memory.
Had anyone ever seen Uncle Ying wearing a black suit?
Chen Mo certainly had not. In his mind, Uncle Ying was the quintessential zombie-fighting Taoist, dressed in the short jacket and trousers of the Republican era.
Even so, Chen Mo was pleasantly surprised. Although Uncle Ying was already in his fifties, aside from having somewhat more gray in his hair, he looked remarkably similar to the Uncle Ying from Mr. Vampire in his previous life.
“Director Chen?” Lam Ching-ying was surprised by how young Chen Mo looked—far younger than he had imagined.
“Uncle Ying, please, have a seat.” Chen Mo greeted him warmly.
They had arranged to meet at a teahouse near Chen Mo’s company.
“Uncle Ying, are you familiar with zombie films?” Chen Mo asked without preamble.
“Zombie films?” Uncle Ying looked slightly surprised. He had no idea why Chen Mo was asking.
“Yes. Have you ever studied zombies?” Chen Mo asked again.
“Do you mean the kind in Shaw Brothers’ The Seven Golden Vampires? Or the kind in Maoshan Zombie Boxing?” Lam Ching-ying asked.
“In terms of appearance, I lean more toward the kind in Maoshan Zombie Boxing. But that film is really just a comedy-action movie wearing the costume of a zombie film. It never truly presents the characteristics of zombies.”
“Could you explain in more detail?” Uncle Ying asked curiously.
“Of course. Ji Yunlan described zombies in his Notes from the Yuewei Thatched Cottage: ‘Their bodies are covered in white hair, their eyes red as cinnabar, their fingers bent like hooks, their teeth protruding beyond their lips like blades. When they exhale, the stench of blood fills the nose.’
“So I want to reconstruct a complete, systematic theory of zombies.” Chen Mo looked at Uncle Ying across from him.
In his previous life, many people had said that Uncle Ying was the one who reconstructed and unified a new theory of zombies. Chen Mo wholeheartedly agreed.
“I want to make a zombie film and create an entirely new worldview for it. But if the film is to work, people must believe that its world is coherent and reasonable. How do we make them believe it? That brings us to this system of zombie lore.
“First, in the legends of corpse-driving in western Hunan, there is the cry: ‘The dead are on the road; the living must keep away.’
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“So the first rule is that, as a supernatural evil, a zombie must have weaknesses. Since it belongs to the realm of the dead, it makes sense that it would fear sunlight.
“Second, if it is a supernatural evil, shouldn’t it have its own distinctive way of moving and attacking?
“I think its movements should be based on Maoshan Zombie Boxing and the legends of corpse-driving in western Hunan. Its body is stiff and incapable of walking; it can only hop.
“As for its method of attack, that should arise from its essential nature. We can take some inspiration from Western vampires and make zombies creatures born with a thirst for blood.
“Their weapons would be their sharp fingernails and their zombie teeth, protruding beyond their lips like blades.
“Those are physical attacks. Shouldn’t we also give them supernatural attacks?
“Again, we can borrow from vampires and make the condition contagious. My idea is that anyone bitten by a zombie will develop itching all over the body and, before long, transform into a zombie as well.
“Since zombies bite with teeth that protrude beyond their lips, wounds caused by a zombie attack should have distinctive marks—similar to the wounds left by a snakebite.”
Chen Mo drew upon the systematic theory of zombies from Mr. Vampire in his previous life and laid it all out.
The more Lam Ching-ying listened, the more astonished and excited he became.
“Since they are supernatural evils, there must naturally be people and methods capable of subduing and exorcising them. Taoists of Mount Mao would be an excellent choice.
“And when Mount Mao Taoists exorcise spirits and fight zombies, they will naturally need certain tools.
“The ancient book Notes from the Right Terrace Immortal Hall says: ‘Weights, measures, rules, and compasses are all insufficient to ward off evil. Only the ink lines used by carpenters and stonemasons are feared by ghosts and spirits. Why is this so? Because evil cannot overcome righteousness.’
“In other words, ordinary square or round tools are not enough to repel evil. Only ink lines are feared by ghosts and spirits. Why? Because evil cannot overcome righteousness.
“In ancient times, ropes were used as measuring tools. In the eyes of the ancients, they therefore represented what was upright.
“So I believe an inked marking line could be one of the tools used by Mount Mao Taoists to fight zombies.
“Back in my hometown, there is a custom of cooking and eating glutinous rice during funeral rites. It is said to drive away evil influences.
“At the same time, a zombie is simply the corpse of a dead person. Once the body decays into a useless skeleton, the zombie can no longer survive. Maggots, which feed on the flesh and blood of corpses, are therefore the natural enemies of zombies. And what do a pile of plump, glistening white grains of glutinous rice resemble?” Chen Mo said with a smile.
“Maggots!” Lam Ching-ying blurted out at once.
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“Once we have the inked line and glutinous rice, we naturally cannot do without talismans. Extending from that idea, drawing talismans requires blood brimming with yang energy. Chicken blood and black-dog blood would undoubtedly be the best choices. Folk tradition has long held that they ward off evil, and the use of black-dog blood for this purpose is also recorded in Yuan Mei’s What the Master Did Not Speak Of and Ji Yunlan’s Notes from the Yuewei Thatched Cottage.
“Since zombies fear light, open flames can also serve as a weapon against them. And then there is the weapon wielded by Taoists—the peachwood sword.
“Peachwood has been regarded since ancient times as a material capable of warding off evil. As a result, peachwood swords were endowed with great supernatural power and became potent weapons for Taoists in their battles against monsters and evil spirits. In Taoist fasting and sacrificial rites, the peachwood sword is one of the most important ritual implements, symbolizing the power to drive away evil and avert calamity.”
Chen Mo spoke at such length that his mouth had gone dry.
Lam Ching-ying immediately refilled his cup with hot tea.
Yet inside, he was tremendously excited. Chen Mo had merely described the concept, but it already sounded wonderfully promising.
Most importantly, Chen Mo had previously said that he wanted Lam Ching-ying to play the lead.
There had really been no need for Chen Mo to explain so much to an actor. But the man before him was Uncle Ying.
In his previous life, he had been the very symbol of the zombie-fighting Taoist. The moment anyone mentioned zombies, Uncle Ying was the first person who came to mind.
To a certain extent, Chen Mo was also making this pilgrimage as a devoted fan of zombie films.
People say that every trade has its master. In the realm of zombie films, Uncle Ying was unquestionably the finest of them all—no objections accepted!
“Uncle Ying, I’d like you to play the male lead in Mr. Vampire: Uncle Nine. The film will also contain quite a few action and fight scenes, so we’ll need a martial-arts choreographer. Since one person can handle both jobs, would you be interested in taking on both?”
Chen Mo spoke again.
“Of course I’m interested. Extremely interested. Just hearing about it makes it sound fascinating. I can hardly wait.” Uncle Ying looked exhilarated.
“The production my Lam family troupe is working on is nearly finished. Once it wraps, I can bring everyone over and put them to work immediately,” Uncle Ying added.
Chen Mo was pleasantly surprised by this.
Mr. Vampire would not be a major production, but neither would it be a small, slapdash affair. It would require quite a few actors. Having an established martial-arts troupe would naturally be ideal; otherwise, Chen Mo would have to rack his brains searching for people.
Minor roles could certainly be filled by extras and bit players. But since the film involved so many fight scenes, having experienced stunt performers would make the production twice as efficient. Without them, everything would take twice as much effort.
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