Legend of the White Serpent Lady – Chinese Folklore

The Legend of the White Snake is one of the four most popular Chinese folk stories. This is a heartwarming love story about a man who falls in love with a white snake. This story has also been ranked in the first batch of China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The Legend of the White Snake has been made into movies, cartoons, and television series.

Once upon a time there was a green snake and a white snake who dreamed of becoming a goddess by doing good deeds on Er Mei Mountain. After successfully cultivating for thousands of years in the caves of Er Mei Mountain, the snakes transformed into two beautiful young women: Pai Su Shen (the white snake) and Siau Ching (the green snake). Although the ladies were not human, they were benevolent and good-hearted. They adored the colorful life of humans and preferred to play around Hang Zhou West Lake.

One day, they rested in the pavilion somewhere in Hang Zhou City’s West Lake and found a handsome young man (Xu Xian) standing on the Broken Bridge. Not long after that, it rained heavily and this worried the ladies. When they were about to go to another place, an umbrella suddenly appeared above their heads. They turned around and were surprised to see the handsome and learned young man holding the umbrella for them. This was their first meeting.

Since she was so beautiful and the man was kind and handsome, they fell in love and later got married and opened a pharmacy. Lady White wrote down the prescription while Siau Ching and Xu Xian collected and dispensed the herbal medicine. They cured many patients, those who could not pay received free treatment, as well as medicines. His store soon became popular and his business became better and better.

One day, a monk named Fa Hai saw them and warned Xu Xian (the man) that his wife was actually a white snake. Hearing this, the man became furious and said, “My wife is not a snake! She is a kind and generous lady who loves me very much.” The monk went on to explain that the coexistence of human and evil spirit is inadmissible, but Xu Xian didn’t want to listen and ignored the monk.

Fa Hai insisted on believing that all demons should be eliminated. To save the man’s soul, the monk had no choice but to imprison the white snake that had taken human form under the Leifeng Pagoda. Many years later, Pai Shu Shen’s son saved his mother from the pagoda and the family was finally reunited.