Legend of the White Snake is one of the four folk love legends in China. It originated from the Luoyang serpent incident in the Tang Dynasty, and was originally shaped in the cautionary story of Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty. It is mature and popular in Qing Dynasty, and it is a model of China folk collective creation.

Legend of the White Snake describes a tortuous love story between a snake spirit who cultivates human form and human beings. Stories include the story of borrowing an umbrella from an awning boat, the story of the White Snake stealing Ganoderma lucidum, the story of flooding Jinshan, the story of broken bridge, the story of Leifeng Tower, and the story of the stone forest sacrifice tower, the son of Xu Xian. It expresses the people's admiration for the free love between men and women and their hatred for the unreasonable bondage of feudal forces.

It is listed as "the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage". According to this story, many TV dramas and cartoons were filmed.

Historical circulation

The legend of White Snake is widely circulated in China. At first, it was spread orally. Later, it appeared in various forms such as commenting on stories, telling stories and playing lyrics, and gradually evolved into a drama performance.

Later, there were novels, and after the Republic of China, there were operas, Taiwanese operas and cartoons. In modern times, there are also films based on the legend of the White Snake, modern dances, new novels and so on. This story appeared in the name of Legend of the White Snake, probably in the late Qing Dynasty, and there was no fixed name before.

The Legend of the White Snake is not only circulated in China, but also made into a movie in Japan. French sinologist stanislas Julien also translated The Legend of the White Snake into French.