1

The scholars in the Tang Dynasty liked to write legends very much. One article "Li Huang" tells such a story:

In the second year of Yuanhe, Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, the rich The second-generation prince Li Huang went shopping and met a beautiful widow in white clothes in the east of Chang'an City.

Mr. Li was immediately fascinated. He followed her home and paid off her foreign debts. Finally, he was recognized by the woman's family and stayed with him for three days and three nights. He was drunk and romantic.

On the fourth day, Mr. Li returned home and felt dizzy and heavy, lying on the bed unable to move. The family members found that the quilt covering him gradually collapsed. When they lifted the quilt, they saw that his body had turned into water and only his head was left.

The family was so frightened that they hurried to find the woman in white’s home, only to find that it was an abandoned garden with a honey locust tree growing in the garden. People nearby said that the garden had long been uninhabited, with only a huge white snake appearing under the tree from time to time.

There is another version of this story, which also happened during the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty:

There was a playful and lustful playboy named Li Guan. One day, he was wandering outside the Anhua Gate of Chang'an City and met two beauties riding white horses. He followed them all the way and felt a strange fragrance, but his servant smelled the smell of snakes.

The two beauties took Li Guan to a garden and introduced him to their master. The owner was a stunning girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. Li Guan was smitten when he saw her and stayed for a whole night.

The next morning, as soon as Li Guan returned home, he felt a severe headache, and soon his head cracked and he died.

The family went to the place where he stayed last night to check, and saw a big withered locust tree there, and there seemed to be a big snake coiled in the tree. The family decisively cut down the big tree, and the big snake disappeared in a flash. The few remaining small snakes had no time to escape and were all killed.

The above two stories are the prototype of the White Snake legend, following the routine of "hunting for novelties + beauties bring disaster".

2

There is a story circulated in the Southern Song Dynasty called "The Story of the Three Pagodas of West Lake":

During the Chunxi period of Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty, there lived a man in Jinmen, Lin'an City. The man named Xi Xuanzan is in his twenties and married. On Qingming Festival, he went to visit the West Lake and met a lost girl who was tearing at his clothes and crying, so he took her home.

This girl’s name is Mao Nu. More than ten days later, her mother-in-law came to her door. In order to thank Xi Xuanzan for taking him in, she invited him to her home.

Xi Xuanzan saw a woman in white clothes at her mother-in-law's house, who claimed to be Mao Nu's mother. She was as beautiful as a flower and jade, and her eyes were like autumn water.

This lady in white is actually a heart-eating monster who likes to associate with young men. Once she gets a new love, she will kill and eat her old love. Xi Xuanzan was forced to stay and spent half a month having sex with the lady in white, which made her exhausted and sallow.

Just when the lady in white was tired of Xi Xuanzan and was about to eat him, Mao Nu rescued him. Xi Xuanzan fled back home. It happened that an uncle was studying Taoism in Longhu Mountain. He saw black energy in the west of the city and came here to catch the monster.

Taoist Xi summoned a divine general and revealed the three monsters to their original forms: Mao Nu was a black-bone chicken, Po Po was an otter, and the Lady in White was a white snake. Master Xi took the iron can, put the three monsters in it, sealed them in the center of the West Lake, and built three stone towers to suppress them.

In this story, White Snake is still a harmful monster, but the location is changed from Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, to Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the plot of the Taoist priest collecting the monster in an iron can and suppressing it under the tower is added.

The male protagonist named Xi Xuanzan is the prototype of Xu Xian.

3

In Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, there is also a folk legend about a white snake becoming a spirit, which is older than the stories of Chang'an and Lin'an:

According to legend, the Song Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties Liu Yu, the founding monarch of the country, whose nickname was Jinu, once lived at the foot of Shouqiu Mountain in Zhenjiang and made a living by cutting down reeds and selling them for money.

One day he was cutting reeds on Jiangzhou and found a big snake in front of him. He bent his bow and arrow and shot it. The big snake was hit by an arrow and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

The next day Liu Yu went to the same place to cut reeds and saw a group of boys in Tsing Yi gathering together to pound herbs. He stepped forward to ask, and the boys replied: The master was shot by Liu Jinu, and we are preparing medicinal herbs for him to treat the injury.

Liu Yu asked: Why didn’t your master kill Liu Jinnu?

The boys replied: The master said that Liu Jinu was a king and could not be killed.

After Liu Yu heard this, he drove all the boys away and took away the medicinal herbs. He later led his troops in the Northern Expedition and regained Luoyang and Chang'an. He relied on this medicinal herb to heal the injuries of his soldiers.

Later generations named this medicinal herb "Liu Jinnucao". To this day, it is still a good medicine for healing wounds in traditional Chinese medicine shops.

The White Snake story in Zhenjiang is far more than this:

There was a scholar named Sun Zhixian in the Southern Song Dynasty. His wife was a peerless beauty. She especially liked to wear white clothes and was mysterious every time she took a bath. , not even her husband is allowed to look at her.

Ten years have passed, and everything is peaceful. One day, Sun Zhixian was drunk and his curiosity suddenly aroused, so he went to spy on his wife taking a bath. There was no one in the water, only a white snake was seen rolling.

After sobering up, Sun Zhixian recalled the situation at that time and suddenly felt frightened and uneasy. Knowing that his true identity had been exposed, his wife politely advised him: "It was wrong of me to conceal my identity, but you shouldn't have peeked into my shower without permission! Let's turn the page, please. Let's sleep together tonight. I don't It will hurt you."

The two reconciled. But Sun Zhixian still felt uncomfortable and depressed, and he died of depression in less than a year.

These two stories respectively add the plots of "White Snake understands medical skills" and "The husband bumps into White Snake and reveals his true form".

In fact, Zhenjiang’s contribution to the legend of the White Snake goes beyond this.

The Yangtze River runs through this city. In the center of the Yangtze River stands a Jinshan Mountain, and there is also a temple with a long history on the Jinshan Mountain. The scenery there is beautiful, and it has always been a good place for literati and poets to travel, vacation, and write poems to show off.

This mountain and this temple have been circulated with many myths and legends since the Tang Dynasty, such as: Zen Master Lingtan subdued the white snake, Peitoutuo subdued the white python, the collection of dragon eggs in the temple caused flooding, etc.

Did you see it? The legends surrounding Jinshan Temple are all related to monks, dragons and snakes.

Not only that, there is also an Easter egg hidden in these legends: the name of Pei Tutuo who subdued the white python was "Fahai".

4

The legend of the White Snake in Zhenjiang and Lin'an was originally two parallel worlds, each with its own characteristics and its own tricks, living in peace and harmony for hundreds of years.

In the late Ming Dynasty, Feng Menglong, a talented novelist and publisher, gathered together the scattered legends above, learned from each other, melted them into one, and adapted them into a more twists and turns. A nice novel called "The White Snake Will Forever Guard Leifeng Pagoda".

The story takes place in the Southern Song Dynasty and is located in Hangzhou, Suzhou and Zhenjiang.

The male protagonist’s name is Xu Xuan, who is the manager of a drug store. One day when he was returning from worshiping his ancestors, it was raining. There was a woman on the same boat who called himself Bai Sanban and lent him an umbrella. Later, when Xu Xuan returned the umbrella, the white lady wanted to marry him and asked the maid Xiaoqing to give him ten pieces of silver.

Unexpectedly, the money was from the government's treasury. Xu Xuan was arrested inexplicably and was sent to Suzhou. White Snake chased her to Suzhou and the two officially got married.

White Snake did not change her old habits and stole other people's things again, causing Xu Xuan to be sent to Zhenjiang again. At this time, monk Fahai appeared and detained Xu Xuan in Jinshan Temple. White Snake could not see her husband and was helpless.

Xu Xian learned the identity of his wife from Fahai and was so frightened that he quickly asked Fahai to accept him as his disciple. He covered his wife with a golden bowl with his own hands, and through alms, he strengthened the pagoda used by Fahai to suppress the White Snake into seven floors.

Feng Menglong made a huge contribution to the legend of the White Snake. Later operas, novels and film and television dramas about the White Snake are basically based on it.

First of all, he changed the image of White Snake as a harmful evildoer and gave her more humanity. The White Snake does not only use her looks to seduce Xu Xuan, but she sincerely loves and protects him, and has no intention of actively doing evil.

Secondly, the maid Xiaoqing finally appeared. Although she is a green fish spirit and not yet the green snake spirit that is known to future generations, her identity has been determined and her character has been outlined.

In addition, the story also adds important plots such as stealing official silver, distributing to Zhenjiang, Fahai's conspiracy, and suppressing Leifeng Pagoda, making it even more thrilling to read.

In fact, Feng Menglong’s original intention of writing this novel was to warn the world not to love beauty, so as not to cause trouble for himself. But readers didn't see it that way. Instead, they fell in love with the beautiful and passionate White Snake and sympathized with her free and romantic love with Xu Xian.

The mismatch between the author's original intention and the reader's understanding is an interesting phenomenon in literary creation.

5

More than a hundred years later, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the legend of the White Snake underwent another transformation.

Before that, many folk opera artists had put the story of the White Snake on the stage, and also changed the main protagonist from Xu Xuan to the White Snake.

At this time, a Kunqu opera writer named Fang Chengpei adapted again based on the achievements of his predecessors and wrote a 34% play, named "Legend of Leifeng Pagoda", which was performed as soon as It caused a sensation.

Fang Chengpei subverted the theme of Feng Menglong's novel. He enthusiastically praised the White Snake's pursuit of true love and supported her fight against Fahai.

"Legend of Leifeng Pagoda" has added rich storylines (such as White Snake's pregnancy, flooding of Jinshan Mountain, Xu Shilin's first prize, etc.), and combined the three main characters: White Snake, Xu Xuan and Xiao Qing. The images have been modified and improved.

Let’s talk about the white snake first. It has lost its demonic nature and turned into a normal and perfect woman.

In Fang Chengpei's writings, White Snake's greatest wish is to become a human being and enjoy a happy life in the world, even if she gives up a thousand years of practice. She deliberately created an opportunity to meet Xu Xuan, and took the initiative to confess her love to her, winning her sweetheart's love.

The White Snake’s behavior destroyed the established order of nature. Faced with the obstruction of Monk Fahai, she knew she was no match, but still chose to fight head-on. Even if she was crushed by Leifeng Pagoda in the end, she never regretted it.

Looking at Xu Xuan again, he is no longer a heartless and heartless man, but a small citizen who is loyal, honest, affectionate and righteous, but also a little weak and selfish. This change will make the image more real and friendly.

There is also Xiaoqing. Her real body has been changed from a herring to a green snake, and her personality has become very distinct. On the surface, she is fierce and strong, hating evil, but on the inside she is pure and kind, and loyal to the White Snake. From then on, Xiao Qing became an indispensable and important figure in the story of White Snake.

Fang Chengpei's "Legend of Leifeng Pagoda" basically finalized the legend of the White Snake that has been circulating for thousands of years and is still used today.

6

In the following two hundred years, the story of White Snake has been continuously adapted and enriched.

For example, in 1953, the famous writer Tian Han (who wrote the lyrics of the national anthem) wrote the Peking Opera "The Legend of White Snake". In the play, he officially named the White Snake "Bai Suzhen", and also transformed Xu Xuan again, making him a lover who is loyal to love and resists Fahai with his wife. The ending of the story has also changed. Xiaoqing led the crowd to burn down Leifeng Pagoda and rescued Bai Suzhen.

But generally speaking, the various adaptations of the White Snake story over the years have not made a qualitative leap.

Until 1992, a fifty-episode TV series "The Legend of the White Snake" was produced in Taiwan, giving this ancient legend a new charm.

"The New Legend of White Snake" combines the advantages of all previous versions and can be said to be a masterpiece. The plot is familiar to everyone and will not be repeated here. I will just talk about its innovations:

First, on the basis of the conflict between Bai Suzhen and Fa Hai, it also adds the relationship between the common people and Fa Hai. Conflicts between officials. The character of Prince Liang plays an important role in the entire drama, and many important plots are triggered or promoted by him.

Secondly, based on the love story of Bai and Xu, the growth story and love tragedy of their son Xu Shilin are added. Like his father, Xu Shilin fell in love with the "alien" Hu Meiniang, which triggered a beautiful but helpless relationship. Coupled with the addition of many new characters such as Xu Xian's sister and brother-in-law, Xu Shilin's cousin Li Bilian, friend Qi Baoshan, Jianghu boss Jiu Ye and his family, the whole story is complex but not messy, showing strong screenwriting skills.

Third, the play uses a large number of Huangmei tune-style arias, which gives the ancient opera a fresh and bright modern feel, making the play both beautiful to watch and listen to, and has an endless aftertaste.

If there is any shortcoming in this version, it is that the happy ending seems a bit far-fetched.

There have been quite a few film and television works about White Snake in recent years, each with its own adaptation method, but none of them are as widely recognized and loved as "The New Legend of White Snake".

The only one worth mentioning is the movie "Green Snake" created by Li Bihua and directed by Tsui Hark. It fundamentally subverts the legend, looks at White Snake, Xu Xian, Fahai and various rules of human society from the perspective of Green Snake, and explores the issue of human nature. The images of the film are very expressive and beautiful, and the music is also remarkable.

7

In ancient China, writing novels and scripts were not popular professions. Most of them were lower-class scholars who failed in the imperial examination and had no choice but to make a living. They place their sorrow and joy, love and hatred in stories that are both true and illusory, and accumulate layer by layer from generation to generation, eventually forming one classic work after another.

Even "Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West" are the crystallization of collective wisdom, not to mention folklore like the White Snake.

The story of White Snake has been circulated for more than a thousand years. The plots we are now familiar with are the result of repeated modifications and improvements by countless predecessors.

Regardless of whether they adapt novels, operas or film and television dramas, whether their achievements are high or low, and their influence is large or small, they are all part of the White Snake culture.

Without successive adaptations and even subversive transformations from generation to generation, we would not be able to see such mature and perfect works as "The Legend of White Snake" and "Green Snake" today.

Therefore, we might as well be more tolerant of the behavior of "adapting classics". Of course, if the changes are not good, you will be criticized, but just because it is a classic, it does not mean that you are not allowed to change it casually.

Only in this way can the classics be played to death.