The Legend of the White Snake

Once upon a time, in the mountains of China, there lived a powerful white snake spirit. After practicing Taoist magic for thousands of years, the White Snake, named Bai Suzhen, gained the ability to transform into a beautiful woman. Along with her close companion, a green snake spirit named Xiao Qing, who also transformed into a woman, Bai Suzhen descended from the mountains to explore the human world.

One day, during a trip to the West Lake in Hangzhou, Bai Suzhen met a young and handsome scholar named Xu Xian. The two fell in love at first sight, and after a brief but intense courtship, they married and began their life together in peace. Bai Suzhen, using her magic, became a skilled herbalist, and she and Xu Xian opened a medicine shop that soon gained a good reputation for healing people.

However, trouble loomed in the form of a monk named Fahai, who resided at the Jinshan (Golden Mountain) Temple. Fahai had knowledge of the White Snake's true nature and believed that the relationship between a human and a snake spirit was unnatural and dangerous. He vowed to separate the couple. Fahai warned Xu Xian that his wife was a serpent in disguise, but Xu Xian, deeply in love with Bai Suzhen, refused to believe him.

Determined to expose Bai Suzhen, Fahai devised a plan. He tricked Xu Xian into giving Bai Suzhen a special wine during the Dragon Boat Festival, which would force her to reveal her true form. Xu Xian unknowingly followed the monk’s advice, and when Bai Suzhen drank the wine, she was unable to suppress her snake form. She transformed into a massive white snake in front of her husband.

Upon seeing her true form, Xu Xian was terrified and fainted. Bai Suzhen, heartbroken but still in love, sought magical herbs from a distant mountain to revive him. She succeeded, and Xu Xian, though initially fearful, came to realize that Bai Suzhen’s love for him was genuine and returned to her.

But Fahai was relentless. He captured Xu Xian and imprisoned him in the Jinshan Temple. Desperate to rescue her husband, Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing went to the temple and pleaded for his release, but Fahai refused. Bai Suzhen, in her fury, summoned the waters of the nearby river and caused a great flood that engulfed the temple.

Despite her powers, Bai Suzhen was unable to defeat Fahai and free her husband. She was eventually captured and imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda, a tower beside the West Lake, where she would remain for many years.

However, this was not the end. Xiao Qing, who had escaped during the battle, dedicated herself to mastering her magic to one-day rescue Bai Suzhen. Years later, Xiao Qing returned, stronger than ever, and destroyed Leifeng Pagoda, freeing her friend from her imprisonment.

In some versions of the story, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian are reunited after many trials, living together in harmony once again. The legend emphasizes the enduring power of love and the struggle between the human and supernatural worlds.