Madame White Snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Madame White Snake (白蛇傳) (or Lady White Snake) is a Chinese legend, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation.
The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story appeared to be "Madame White Snake Jailed Eternally in the Leifeng Pagoda" (白娘子永鎮雷峰塔 ) in “ Jing Shi Tong Yan ” (警世通言) by Feng Menglong (馮夢龍) during the Ming Dynasty.
Contents |
[edit] Basic Plot
The story was set in the Southern Song Dynasty. Two snake spirits transformed into female human form after thousand years of meditation. They called themselves Bai Suzhen (White) and Chingching (Green). One day at the West Lake in Hangzhou they came across Xu Xian, a poor herbal medicine shopkeeper. Bai and Xu fell in love at first sight.
Bai used magic to create a mansion, and she asked Chingching to propose marriage with Xu. After wedding Bai helped Xu opened an herbal medicine shop and made him the in-house doctor. They led a happy life.
After wedding Xu and Bai moved to Suzhou where they opened an herbal medicine shop and Bai became a doctor. They led a happy life and soon Bai was pregnant. One day when Xu was on his way home, he met a Taoist priest who claimed that there were evil spirits lingering in his house and gave him three sheets of blessed paper. Bai's magic skills outperformed those of the Taoist priest and turned the paper into ordinary ones. Xu was regretful at his mistrust of his wife but Bai did not blame him. She asked Chingching to drive the priest away instead.
Later a monk Fahai from Jinshan Temple came to visit Xu and asked him to become a disciple of his because Bai and Chingching were not humans but snakes. Xu refused to believe him and kicked him out.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, Xu asked his wife to have some wine according to the tradition. Bai tried to refuse but Xu insisted. She took a sip of it but fell seriously ill afterwards. She rushed to her bed and slowly transformed into a snake. When Xu brought her some medicine he was horrified to see the huge snake on his bed and fell dead. When Bai recovered her human shape she was grief-stricken to see Xu lying dead on the floor. Chingching reminded her of getting the magic herb of lingzhi to save him. When Bai flew to Kunlun Mountains she was stopped by a group of fairies. Bai risked her life to fight with the fairies and was saved by God of Nanji. He gave Bai the lingzhi and let her go. Finally Bai managed to restore her husband's life.
After this Bai knew she could conceal no more. She told her husband what she really was and asked for his mercy. Xu was deeply moved and vowed that he would never separate from her for the rest of his life.
One day when Xu was collecting herbs outside he was kidnapped by Fahai. Bai and Chingching rushed to Jinshan Temple to plead for Xu's release. But Fahai refused. Bai and Chingching had no choice but used their magic to flood Jinshan Temple. Fahai and his disciples tried their best to resist. Suddenly Bai suffered from labor and was about to have her child. She lost control of her magic and the waters overflowed the villages nearby, killing countless people. Chingching could do nothing to remedy but retreat to a forest with Bai. Meanwhile, God of Nanji released Xu and brought him to the forest.
Soon Bai gave birth to a boy and asked Chingching to bring him back to Xu, so that he could bring him up. Fahai and his disciples arrived, stating that Bai must be jailed in his alms bowl. After giving birth Bai could not recover her magic powers immediately. She had no choice but being absorbed into Fahai's alms bowl, later kept in the Leifeng Pagoda.
When Xu’s son grew up, Xu told him the story about his mother. Xu’s son went to the Leifeng Pagoda and begged for release Bai. Several years later, Fahai finally let Bai went home and stay with her family.
[edit] Modification
The story in “Jing Shi Tong Yan” was a story between righteous and evil. However the general public sympathized Bai Suzhen and they had not forsaken her because she was a snake spirit. The story therefore went into various modifications, which emphasized the will of Bai for love, the sacrifice she made for her love, and her braveness in general. In “Jing Shi Tong Yan”, Madame White/Madame Bai did not even have a name, 'Bai Suzhen' was only later created.
These modifications include:
1. Acquiring Magic Herbs
- Under the influence of Fahai to test the true identity of Bai, Xu forced his wife to drink wine at the Dragon Boat Festival. As snakes are repelled to sulfur (as sulfur dioxide in wine), Bai returned to snake form and Xu was horrified to death. When Bai awaken she was grief-stricken. Bai flew to Kunlun Mountains to steal some lingzhi but was stopped by a group of lingzhi–guarding fairies. Bai risked her life to fight with them and was impressed by the fairies’ master, God of Nanji (South Pole). He gave Bai the lingzhi to restore her husband's life.
2. Redemption of Bai
- After Bai was trapped underneath the pagoda, Chingching escaped and went for further meditation. She came back and defeated Fahai and set Bai free. Fahai retreated to the stomach of crab. That is why the internal fat of the crab is of orange color, which resembles the color of Fahai’s Taoist quilt.
3. Redemption of Bai (second version)
- Bai gave birth to Xu’s son before she was trapped. Chingching took the baby to Xu’s relatives, who raised him to become the top scholar. The son returned to the pagoda to pay respect. Bai was released because of her son’s filial piety.
- Xu and Bai were amongst the god and goddess, but they broke the law in heaven and must repay by living through human lives. Xu first saved a white snake that was Bai, and they met again to begin the story of ‘Madame White Snake’.
[edit] Adaptation
- The story has been performed numerous times in Peking opera, Cantonese opera and other Chinese operas.
- Actresses such as Yoshiko Otaka, Yu So Chow, Lin Dai and Joey Wong had been involved in various adaptations of the story.
- In 1958 the story was adopted into The Tale of the White Serpent, which is historically known as the first colored anime in Japan.
- Madam White Snake (1962 film)
- Director Tsui Hark made the movie 'Green Snake' in 1993. Starring Joey Wong.
- In 2001 a TV drama series 'Madam White Snake' starring Fann Wong was made, which further modified the plot.
[edit] See also
|
Topics in Chinese mythology
|
|
| General topics: | Creation myth · Astrology · Dragons · Religion in China · Folk religion ·List of deities · I Ching |
| Important beings: | Deities · Three August Ones and Five Emperors |
| Eight Immortals: | Zhongli Quan · Lü Dongbin · Elder Zhang Guo · Philosopher Han Xiang Iron-crutch Li · Immortal Woman He · Lan Caihe · Royal Uncle Cao |
| Mythical creatures: | List of mythical creatures |
| Mythical places: | Xuanpu · Yaochi · Fusang · Queqiao · Penglai · Longmen · Di Yu |
| Literary sources: | Shan Hai Jing · Shui Jing Zhu · Hei'an Zhuan · Fengshen Yanyi Journey to the West · Baishe Zhuan · Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio |
