The Legend of the White Snake

 


The Legend of the White Snake

Once upon a time, during the Tang Dynasty, there was a beautiful and kind-hearted snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. Bai Suzhen was a white snake who had cultivated herself for hundreds of years in the mountains to become a human. One day, while in human form, she ventured to the city of Hangzhou, where she met a handsome and kind young man named Xu Xian, a scholar who owned a herbal medicine shop.

Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian instantly fell in love with each other. They married, and despite their differences—Bai Suzhen being a snake spirit and Xu Xian being a human—they lived happily together. But Bai Suzhen kept her true identity a secret from Xu Xian, afraid that he might not accept her if he knew the truth.

As time passed, Bai Suzhen’s best friend, a green snake named Xiao Qing, lived with them, offering help and support in their daily lives. But fate soon intervened. A monk named Fahai, who lived in a nearby temple, heard rumors about Bai Suzhen’s true nature. He knew she was a powerful spirit and believed that humans and spirits should never mix, as it would bring disaster.

One day, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, Bai Suzhen’s true form was revealed. Xu Xian, unaware of her secret, had unknowingly given her a potion made of realgar, a substance that reveals the true nature of spirits. As Bai Suzhen drank the potion, she turned back into a white snake right in front of him. Xu Xian was terrified, but Bai Suzhen reassured him and revealed her love for him. She told him that, though she was a snake, her feelings were as pure as any human’s.

But the news of this supernatural love reached Fahai, who immediately set out to separate them. Fahai believed that such a union was unnatural and that Bai Suzhen posed a danger to Xu Xian. He trapped Xu Xian, using powerful magic to separate the lovers.

Heartbroken, Bai Suzhen begged for Xu Xian’s release and went on a perilous journey to rescue him. Along the way, she faced many trials, but her love for Xu Xian kept her going. Eventually, after a series of battles with Fahai, Bai Suzhen used her magical powers to confront the monk in a dramatic final showdown.

In the end, though Bai Suzhen was powerful, she was unable to defeat Fahai, and Xu Xian was kept imprisoned. Bai Suzhen, in her sorrow, took refuge in a pagoda at Leifeng Hill, where she remained for many years, waiting for the day when she and Xu Xian could reunite.

After many years of searching, Xu Xian, who never forgot his beloved Bai Suzhen, finally found her. He went to the pagoda where she was imprisoned and, through his pure love and devotion, he was able to break the enchantment that kept her trapped.

The two lovers were finally reunited, and their love became a symbol of devotion, patience, and the triumph of true love over adversity. Their story continues to be told in songs, operas, and plays, embodying the idea that love transcends the boundaries of the natural world.

This story is filled with romance, magic, and moral lessons about love and loyalty. It remains a popular theme in Chinese opera, movies, and literature, and is one of the most well-known folk tales in Chinese culture

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