The records concerning the Jiangshi in the Zhengyi Fu Zuan categorize them into four types: Bai Jiang (White Jiangshi), Hei Jiang (Black Jiangshi), Lü Jiang (Green Jiangshi), and Fei Jiang (Flying Jiangshi).

Bai Jiang: These are the common dried corpses unearthed under normal circumstances. Due to the great passage of time, not a trace of moisture remains in the body, making the dried corpse extremely fragile. Some dried corpses may even disintegrate the moment they are lifted out. Thus, they rarely undergo shibien (corpse transformation); even if they do, their lethality is minimal, making them easy to subdue or eliminate.

Hei Jiang: When unearthed, Hei Jiang are usually wet corpses, although, very rarely, they can be dried corpses. Because a large amount of corpse poison has accumulated within the body, the skin takes on a dark black hue. Once the corpse undergoes shibien, the corpse poison within transforms, causing black corpse hair to sprout, thus becoming a true Hei Jiang. Once transformed, the corpse hair on a Hei Jiang is incredibly hard and impervious to blades or bullets, and its lethality is immense. If a person is scratched or bitten by a Hei Jiang, the corpse poison quickly transmits to the victim, who will become a Jiangshi themselves if not treated promptly due to the poison attacking the heart. Most incidents reported as 'a Jiangshi rampaging here or there' are typically cases involving Hei Jiang.

Lü Jiang: When a person has been interred for many years, their hair and nails continue to grow, and their body surface sprouts green downy hair; such a Jiangshi is known as a Lü Jiang, or the Green-Haired Jiangshi spoken of in folklore. Generally, such Jiangshi do not spontaneously rise to harm people. However, when a Lü Jiang appears, the region where it resides experiences widespread plague and disaster.

There truly is such an account concerning the Green-Haired Jiangshi. This occurred during the Republic of China era, in a small town in a southern region. A group of young men, stripped to the waist, were digging a water well under the scorching midday sun. Suddenly, the young man at the very bottom stammered, "Fourth... Fourth... Uncle! There's... there’s a coffin down there!"

The man leading the work was the patriarch of a prominent Zhao family in the town, universally addressed as Fourth Uncle. Fourth Uncle was highly respected locally and possessed considerable insight. Hearing they had struck a coffin, he immediately ordered everyone to stop, then called several strong young men to haul the coffin out. At that moment, everyone turned their gaze to Fourth Uncle; having encountered such a matter, he felt somewhat at a loss, unsure whether they should continue digging further.

An older man among the laborers spoke up, saying, "Hitting a coffin isn't necessarily a bad omen. 'Coffin' (, guāncai) sounds like 'gaining official status and wealth' (, guāncai). Perhaps there are rare treasures inside this coffin." Hearing this, Fourth Uncle ordered a few brave souls to open it.

Inside the coffin were not the rare treasures everyone imagined, but starkly lying there, a Jiangshi covered entirely in green fuzz! The fuzz was damp and emitted a strange, foul odor. Everyone present was stunned. Fourth Uncle felt it best to inform the Town Chief; after all, he was merely the foreman, uncertain whether the discovery of the Green-Haired Jiangshi signified fortune or doom, and whether digging could continue rested with the Chief’s decision.

The Town Chief soon arrived upon hearing the news and also saw the Green-Haired Jiangshi, leaving him indecisive for a moment. Fourth Uncle said to the Chief, "Your Honor, the discovery of a Green-Haired Jiangshi here is rather inauspicious. Perhaps we should choose another auspicious spot to dig a new well."

The Town Chief felt downcast seeing the Green-Haired Jiangshi and also wished to relocate the digging site. However, the town suffered a severe water shortage; the entire population of over twenty thousand relied on a single well for survival, reaching a state where water was indeed more precious than oil. Around the well, twenty-four hours a day, every minute, someone waited to draw water. Now that they had finally located this source, and in the center of town no less, how could they so easily abandon it?

He pondered for a while and then commanded his subordinates, "Go summon the Maoshan Daoist priest; let him inspect it before a final decision is made." The Maoshan Daoist priest the Chief spoke of was, in fact, an old charlatan in town. This fellow had studied a couple of months of Maoshan arts from a wandering Daoist and, upon returning, claimed he had attained the Dao and was sent by the Jade Emperor to alleviate suffering. He opened a Daoist hall in town, specializing in fleecing the ignorant for small amounts of money.

This fellow truly had a stroke of incredible luck. The very first time he ventured out to help, he became famous. A wealthy man in town, surnamed Zhang, suffered from an intensely itchy skin disease. He sought cures everywhere, spending fortunes, yet his condition showed no improvement. Having no other recourse, he sought out this "Maoshan fake." The Maoshan Daoist priest hadn't learned much from the wandering Daoist—only the theatrical movements like brandishing a peach wood sword—but he remembered one simple folk remedy the wandering Daoist had used for skin ailments: crushing the white part of a green onion and mixing it with an appropriate amount of honey, then applying it to the affected area.

The Maoshan Daoist applied this remedy to the wealthy Mr. Zhang, making showy gestures with his peach wood sword. He told Mr. Zhang, "Elder Mr. Zhang, you have been ensnared by a snake spirit, which is why you contracted this skin disease. Today, I shall use my magic to expel this snake spirit, and I guarantee you will stop itching in three days."

After saying this, he continued his theatrics of summoning spirits and enacting rituals. Just as he was about to 'conclude his work,' suddenly! A patterned snake dropped from the ceiling rafters! This snake landed directly on the Maoshan Daoist priest's head!

This truly terrified the Maoshan Daoist priest half to death, but he managed to remain composed, showing no outward loss of composure to the Zhang family. He first asked everyone to step aside, then used the peach wood sword to flick the patterned snake out, and finally killed it with a wooden club before allowing the Zhang family members to look.

All members of the Zhang family witnessed this scene and were filled with awe for the Maoshan Daoist priest, their admiration flowing like an unstoppable, surging river, like the uncontrollable flooding of the Yellow River. They all believed he possessed genuine ability and had truly subdued the snake spirit hiding in their house. The wealthy Mr. Zhang used the remedy for three days; although his skin disease wasn't cured, the affected area genuinely stopped itching, so he naturally believed the Maoshan Daoist priest’s words. From then on, the Maoshan Daoist priest’s reputation spread.

Now, this Maoshan Daoist priest arrived at the well-digging site, inspected it with affected solemnity, and told the Town Chief, "This Jiangshi must be burned quickly, otherwise if this Green-Haired Jiangshi gains strength, it will bring disaster to the people, and the lives of the entire town will be in danger."

At this moment, a monk stepped out from the surrounding crowd, dressed as an ascetic. The monk first chanted a Buddhist invocation, then said to the Maoshan Daoist priest, "Esteemed Daoist brother, this Jiangshi must not be burned."

The Maoshan Daoist priest held considerable authority in this area; his word was practically law. People revered him almost as a deity. Few dared to contradict what he said. Today, seeing a traveling monk in tattered rags daring to publicly refute his assertion naturally sparked anger, though he couldn't show it too openly.

The Maoshan Daoist priest made a slight bow with his fists towards the wandering monk and coldly inquired, "Might I ask... what insights do you, Master, possess?" The wandering monk did not perceive the shift in the Maoshan Daoist priest's mood and continued on his own, "As far as I know, this Green-Haired Jiangshi cannot spontaneously rise to harm people. The best course of action is to return it to its original resting place. If it is burned... calamities might arise."

The Maoshan Daoist priest sneered, "Since ancient times... dispelling ghosts and demons has mostly been the work of Daoist disciples. When did monks, who have renounced all worldly attachments, start interfering in such matters? Furthermore... Master, what evidence do you have that this Green-Haired Jiangshi won't rise and cause harm? If this Jiangshi truly gains strength and causes deaths, can you, Master, bear that responsibility?" His words were righteous and forceful, leaving the wandering monk momentarily unable to formulate a reply.

The onlookers began to jeer: "Monk, are you short of money? Why are you hoodwinking everyone here? Go on, leave! Stop making a fool of yourself here!" The curses grew louder and louder.

Although the wandering monk lacked the art of expelling ghosts and demons, having traveled widely was as valuable as reading ten thousand books; he was a well-traveled and knowledgeable man. His advice today was offered with good intentions, and he hadn't expected the townspeople to react this way. The wandering monk sighed, stamped his foot, and turned away amidst the crowd's scolding. Naturally, the Town Chief trusted the words of the 'Maoshan King' and immediately arranged for men to burn the Green-Haired Jiangshi publicly, following the Maoshan Daoist priest’s instructions.

The day after the Green-Haired Jiangshi was burned, a disastrous plague erupted in the small town. Victims would bleed from the whole body and die within two hours. In less than three days, the small town was completely reduced to a ghost town! Of the two thousand-plus residents, young and old, not a single person survived, and every corpse had sprouted green downy hair!

In truth, if they had followed the monk's advice and reburied the Green-Haired Jiangshi quickly after it was unearthed, the plague would not have occurred. This can even be explained by modern science: the Green-Haired Jiangshi’s body contained an extremely contagious virus. If the corpse was exposed to the outside environment for too long, the virus would slowly volatilize, infecting people or livestock. Because the townspeople trusted the Maoshan Daoist priest implicitly and burned the Jiangshi upon his advice, the virus transmission was accelerated, naturally leading to a large-scale, catastrophic plague.

The appearance of a Green-Haired Jiangshi is generally influenced by a deterioration of the geographical environment or the transformation of a prosperous feng shui site into an ominous one. The main causes for the environmental decay or feng shui site deterioration are often man-made. In my personal view, the people of that small town must have damaged the local feng shui while digging the well, altering the trajectory of the terrestrial energy, which caused the corpse to change and become a Green-Haired Jiangshi.