Sunset at the Leifeng Pagoda and West Lake in Hangzhou
Once upon a time, a young boy named Xu Xian (许仙, Xǔxiān) bought some tangyuan from a peddler. Unaware that the sweet dessert was actually made of immortality pills, he began to feel nauseous after eating and threw up the tangyuan in a nearby lake.
In this same lake, a white snake and tortoise spirit had been practicing Daoist magical arts in order to transform into humans. The white snake spotted the pills before the tortoise and immediately ate them, gaining enough magical ability to transform into a beautiful young woman. The tortoise, angry that she had taken the power of immortality, eventually died.
While traveling as a human, white snake encountered a beggar trying to kill a green snake. Pitying her fellow creature, she saved the other by also transforming her into a human. Overcome with gratitude, the green snake pledged her loyalty, and the two named themselves Bai Suzhen (白素贞, Báisùzhēn) and Xiaoqing (小青, Xiǎo Qīng).
Eighteen years passed, and Bai Suzhen coincidentally met Xu Xian at the Broken Bridge during the Qingming Festival. The two quickly fell in love and married, happily opening a medicine shop.
Unfortunately, trouble was on the way. The tortoise spirit, filled with bitter hate towards Bai Suzhen, had reincarnated into a monk named Fa Hai (法海 Fǎ Hǎi). Vowing revenge, he told Xu Xian to make his wife take realgar wine, a drink that was commonly believed to repel poisonous creatures. Bai Suzhen agreed to drink the wine only because she thought that her immortality would protect her, but it wasn’t enough. Later that night, Xu Xian woke up to see a huge white snake lying next to him. He died instantly, the shock and horror causing a massive heart attack.
Full of grief, Bai Suzhen traveled to Mount Emei (峨眉山 Éméi shān) to find the cure for his death. After reviving him, Xu Xian admitted that he still loved her. Fa Hai, furious at his own failure, captured the man. Bai Suzhen tried to force them out of the monastery Xu Xian was trapped in by flooding it, but she was greatly weakened by her pregnancy. She fled back to the area near her home lake.
Xu Xian escaped in time to meet his newborn son, Xu Mengjiao (许梦蛟 Xǔ Mèngjiāo). However, Fa Hai followed close behind. Using his powers, he trapped Bai Suzhen under the Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔 Léifēng Tǎ).
It is her where the many variations of the legend make their differences apparent. Some say that Bai Suzhen managed to escape, training for years before finally defeating Fa Hai and reuniting with her family. Others tell of her son, Mengjiao, who would later be awarded the highest degree in the civil service examination. Even the heavens were touched by the filial devotion he expressed to his mother during his visit afterwards, feeling sympathetic enough to set her free.
Interesting Facts:
- Many of the places mentioned in the tale are popular tourist attractions today! Leifeng Pagoda and West Lake (see picture above) are visited by thousands each year.
- The first scene (Xu Xian eating the tangyuan) happened during the Dragon Boat Festival. The scene where Fa Hai tells him about the realgar wine also occurred at the same festival, years later. Isn’t that interesting?
- In one version, Xiao Qing is the one who defeats Fa Hai. She sets fire to the Leifeng Pagoda, freeing Bai Shuzhen, but too many years have passed and it is too late for her family to reunite.
- Originally, this story fell neatly in the genre of horror. In older versions, Fa Hai was a good monk who tried to prevent Bai Suzhen from seducing and devouring Xu Xian. By the 18th century, though, it had developed into the romantic tale popular today.
- A Chinese proverb: “水漫金山(Shuǐ màn jīnshān)” comes from the scene where Bai Shuzhen raises a flood against the monastery. Today, the phrase typically refers to something that is overwhelming.
Sources:
http://blog.tutorming.com/expats/white-snake-legend-bai-she-zhuan
https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/chinese-folktales/
http://www.medievalists.net/2017/11/legend-white-snake-chinese-melusine-story/
http://www.6mj.com/news/minjian/07310142744867F4G1EBFKK3AH0CJB2.htm