THE LADY WHITE SNAKE
A CHINESE LEGEND
MOSTLY PERFORMED IN FAMOUS PEKING OPERAS
WEST LAKE
THE
BROKEN
BRIDGE MOUNT EMEI
DRAGON
REALGAR BOAT
WINE FESTIVAL
How to Say the Names
Hangzhou ~ HONG-JO
Emei ~ um-AY
Xu Xian ~ SOO see-EN or SHOO shee-EN
Zhenjiang ~ JUN-jee-ONG
Fahai ~ FAH-HI
Kunlun ~ KUN-LUN
Yangzi ~ YONG-dzuh
The old tales of China tell us that all things may grow and change. A stone may become a plant. A plant may become an animal. An
animal may become a human. A human may become a god.
Just so, a snake may become a woman. And we are told of one who did.
Who can say for sure how it began? Yet after centuries of ceaseless effort—meditating, disciplining herself, mastering the
energies of the universe—this white snake took human form. Immortal now and with great powers, she longed for one thing more.
Human love.
***
Perhaps no spot in China is more lovely than the famed West Lake. Lying beside the city of Hangzhou, bordered by green hills, it is
often compared to a painter’s landscape or a fabled beauty. Visitors from far and near stroll the banks and take boats across the
water.
Among the strollers on one spring day was a lovely young lady dressed in white and her young maid in blue—or so they
seemed. How could anyone know they were really a white snake and a blue snake in human form? Flying on clouds from their home
on sacred Mount Emei, they had come to Hangzhou to sample the joys of the human world.
“It’s even more beautiful than I’d hoped,” said Lady White as they walked along. “Can you smell the peach blossoms? And
look, Blue! Here’s the famous Broken Bridge.”
“But the bridge isn’t broken!” said Blue.
“That’s just what it’s called,” said Lady White, smiling. “Oh, sister, I’m so glad we came here from our cold and dreary
mountain.”
As the sun passed behind dark clouds, they spotted a young man with an umbrella under his arm. “How handsome he is!”
said Blue, and Lady White agreed. Her heart felt something she had never known before.
Just then it began to rain, and they took shelter under a willow. The young man, whose name was Xu Xian, noticed their
predicament. “Ladies,” he said, “that willow won’t keep you dry! Please use my umbrella.”
“But, sir, you need it yourself,” said Lady White.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Look, there’s a boat coming to shore. Let me hire the boatman to take us back to the city.”
As they crossed the lake, the ladies insisted that the young man sit close to share the umbrella. He and Lady White
exchanged shy glances and spoke awkwardly, while Blue helped the conversation along and smiled in amused delight.
Before long, the boat reached the landing the ladies had asked for. By then the rain had stopped, but Blue pointed secretly
skyward, and it started once again.
Just as hoped, the young man said, “Please, you must take the umbrella home with you. I’ll come for it tomorrow.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Lady White. “We will expect you. Please do not disappoint us!”
The next morning, Xu Xian visited the house where the ladies were staying.
. As Blue served tea and then wine, the young man told Lady White he was an orphan and had been returning from a visit to
his mother’s grave when he met them. He lived with his sister and her husband and worked as an assistant in a shop for herbal
medicine.
Pleased by his words and his manner, Lady White whispered to Blue and left the room. Blue said, “My mistress wants to
know if you would like to marry her.”
In surprise, the young man said, “There’s nothing I’d like better! But with the little I earn, how could I support the three of
us?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Blue. “My mistress has an inheritance from her father. Anyway, today is lucky, so you
really should get married right away. You can tell your sister later, and that umbrella will do just fine as a gift for the bride. I’ll go
ahead and light the candles.”
Almost before he knew it, Xu Xian was standing next to Lady White in her bridal gown. They bowed to Heaven and Earth, to
their ancestors, and to each other. They were now husband and wife!
***
The newlyweds decided to move to the city of Zhenjiang and open an herb shop of their own. The shop was a great success,
for Lady White could tell just what was wrong with a patient (illness) and just what compound to prescribe. What’s more, she
showed great dedication in helping the sick, no matter how poor.
The two were supremely happy with their work and with each other. Adding to their joy, Lady White soon announced she
was expecting a child.
One day when Lady White had gone off to rest, an old Buddhist monk entered the shop and spoke to Xu Xian. “I am
Fahai, the abbot of Gold Mountain Temple,” he said. “I have come to warn you of a great danger. By my spiritual powers, I have
discovered that your wife is a thousand-year-old snake. She hides her true nature for now, but one day she will surely turn against
you and devour you.”
“How dare you say that!” said the young man. “It’s nothing but wicked slander!”
But Fahai told him, “Just make sure she drinks realgar wine for the Dragon Boat Festival. She’ll change back then to
her true form, and you’ll see for yourself.”
Soon came the Dragon Boat Festival, when everyone drank wine mixed with foul-smelling realgar to drive away snakes.
Knowing the danger to her kind, Lady White stayed in bed pretending to be ill. But Xu Xian called her out of the bedroom and said
cheerily, “We mustn’t let the festival pass without sharing at least one cup of realgar wine!”
When his wife made excuses, he suddenly remembered Fahai’s warning and mentioned it as a joke. Lady White was
horrified at this unexpected assault on their happiness. Afraid then to make her husband suspicious, and hoping by her powers to
withstand the realgar, she drank one cup and then another.
Before she could drink a third, she began to retch. She quickly returned to the bedroom, while Xu Xian hurried out to
prepare her some medicine. But when he came back with it, he found on the bed not his lovely wife but a huge white snake.
The young man collapsed to the floor, where Blue found him moments later. “Sister,” she called, “wake up! Your husband
has died of shock!”
Lady White, again in human form, knelt by her husband and wept. Then she declared, “I will fly to Kunlun Mountain and
steal a miracle mushroom from the gods. That and nothing else can bring him back to life.”
Taking both her own sword and Blue’s, Lady White flew swiftly on a cloud all the way to holy Kunlun Mountain. But just as
she came upon one of the miracle mushrooms, she was challenged by Brown Deer, a guard serving the gods. “I beg you,” said Lady
White, “spare one mushroom to save my husband’s life.”
“These mushrooms are not for mortals!” said Brown Deer.
He struck at her with his sword, but she met it with her own. “Then forgive me if I take one anyway,” she said. And she
fought back until she wounded him.
Lady White picked the mushroom and turned to flee. But just then White Crane, another guard, joined the fight. Holding
the mushroom in her mouth, and a sword in each hand, Lady White defended herself bravely. But she was no match for both guards
together and was finally beaten to the ground.
As White Crane raised his sword for a final blow, the Old Man of the South appeared and called a halt (stop). “How dare
you steal from us!” the god demanded of Lady White. But he could not help admiring her devotion to her husband. For that and the
child she was expecting, he pardoned her and let her take the mushroom away.
***
With a drink made from the miracle mushroom, Lady White brought her husband back to life. But though he soon
recovered fully, neither one of them would speak of what had happened. Terrified by what he had seen, and not knowing of his wife’s
efforts to save him, Xu Xian now did his best to avoid her.
Lady White, anxious to regain his love, at last played a trick on him. She changed her white silk sash into a living snake and
fooled him into thinking that this was the snake that had frightened him.
Happiness returned to the household. But not long after, Xu Xian set off for Gold Mountain Temple to offer thanks to
Buddha for his recovery. On the bank of the Yangzi River, he found Fahai waiting for him. “Your wife has tricked you,” said Fahai,
and he told him just what had happened.
Terrified once more, the young man asked, “How can I save myself?”
“Become a monk and live at the temple,” said Fahai. “That’s the one place she can’t reach you.”
But Xu Xian, torn between love of his wife and fear of her, could not decide. “I stand in two boats at once!” he moaned. At
last, meaning to decide later, he boarded Fahai’s raft and crossed with him to the river island where the temple stood.
Once inside Gold Mountain Temple, Xu Xian was not allowed to leave. Meanwhile, Lady White waited anxiously without
news for three days. Then she and Blue took their swords and rowed a boat to the island to bring him home.
Fahai was waiting for them at the temple gate. Blue cried, “Give him back, you shaven-headed donkey!” But Lady White
silenced her. Patiently appealing to Fahai’s compassion and sense of justice, she pleaded with him to return her husband.
“Demon!” cried Fahai. “My duty is to protect unsuspecting humans from such as you!”
“I have harmed no one and helped many,” protested Lady White. “Surely the demon is he who divides man and wife!”
“Sister,” declared Blue, “we must crush this temple!”
Fahai called down an army of heavenly warriors, while from the river below, Lady White and Blue called up an army of
water animals. The two armies fought fiercely, and led by Lady White, her side was winning. But at last her condition made her
falter. With her allies around her for protection, she hastily retreated.
Lady White and Blue fled to Hangzhou, where they found themselves once more by Broken Bridge. Believing her husband
had betrayed her, Lady White said, “The bridge may not be broken, but my heart is.”
Blue told her, “If I ever see that traitor again, I’ll kill him!”
Just then, Xu Xian himself arrived. From within the temple, he had heard the noise of battle and learned it was his wife who
had come for him. Determined at last to stand by her, he had managed to escape, then had searched till he found them.
But Blue, furious at sight of him, chased him with her sword. Lady White stood between them to protect her husband, but
then turned on him herself and declared how he had hurt her. The young man protested, “Fahai kept me prisoner—yet all that time I
only thought of you!”
“Dear husband,” said Lady White, “set aside your fear and hear me now.” Then, ignoring Blue’s signals of alarm, she
revealed everything—what she was in truth and all she had done for him. “And now,” she said, “your heart must tell you what is right
or wrong.”
Xu Xian replied, “Finally I realize all you’ve suffered for my sake. Human or not, I’ll love you always. If I don’t, let Blue cut
off my head!”
***
United once more, the three stayed in Hangzhou with the sister of Xu Xian, and there Lady White gave birth to her baby
boy. But the couple’s happiness was not to last. Just one month after their son’s birth—on the day they were to present him to friends
and relatives—Fahai arrived, his golden alms bowl carried by a heavenly warrior. Lady White was instantly held captive by the bowl’s
golden ray.
Blue attacked the warrior with her sword, but he fought her off with Fahai’s dragon staff. “Sister, save yourself,” called Lady
White, “and come back later to avenge us!” Helpless for the moment, Blue fled.
Xu Xian pleaded with Fahai and tried to seize the bowl, but to no avail. “Now at last,” he said, “I see who is the real demon!”
Realizing there was no hope, Lady White said goodbye to her husband and to her baby. Then she told Fahai, “Though you
tear me from my husband’s arms, you cannot stop our love.”
Then Fahai ordered the warrior to imprison her under Thunder Peak Pagoda by West Lake. He declared, “Not until the lake
dries up or the pagoda falls will she come out again!”
***
Centuries passed. Xu Xian and Fahai passed away, but Blue did not forget. On Mount Emei, she trained herself until her
powers were at their height. Then she gathered an army of mountain animals and marched on Thunder Peak Pagoda.
The pagoda’s guardian spirit met her with his own army, but it was defeated and forced to flee. Then Blue’s army set fire to
the pagoda, which quickly crumbled.
“Sister, come out!” called Blue.
And there from the ruins rose Lady White—free again at last!
***
So ends the legend of Lady White. Who can say for sure what happened then? Perhaps she returned to Mount Emei, never more to
brave the human world. Perhaps she flew above the clouds to live in peace in Heaven.
Or perhaps she strolls beside West Lake along with sister Blue, waiting for her heart to stir again.
COMPREHENSION CHECK:
1. Is it true that the Lady White Snake disguised as a human being because she wanted to trap more men in
order to devour or eat them alive? Why or why not?
______________________________________________
2. Who was the man whom the Lady White Snake married to?
______________________________________________
3. How did the Lady White Snake and her husband met?
_______________________________________________
4. What was the Lady Snake and the Lady Blue Snake’s relationship?
_______________________________________________
5. How did the husband discovered the truth about the Lady White Snake (Wife)’s secret?
_______________________________________________
6. Describe the ending briefly? Was it sad or happy? Explain. _____________________________________
7. Who was the antagonist of the story? __________________________________________
8. Do believe in mystical creatures just like the Lady White and Blue Snake? Why or why not?
_________________________________________________________________________
9. What Philippine Mythical creatures have same features or quality as this Chinese Version of lady white and lady
blue snake?
____________________________________________________
10. Did the lady white snake really died? ________________________________________________
11. Did she have a baby? What happened to him/her? _______________________________________________
AFRO ASIAN EXAMINATION:
____1. Who is considered as the Indian counterpart of _______11. _______________ is a form of Japanese
Shakespeare? Poetry, consisting 17 syllables, in 3 lines of 5/7/5 syllables
respectively.
a. Kalidasa
b. Ghandi a. Couplet
c. Rabindranath Tagore b. Sonnet
d. Sadi c. Haiku
d. Kabuki
____2. What lessons can be inferred in the passage below:
________12. This is considered to be Japan’s first novel
“All that we are is the result of what we have with the theme of a playboy/Casanova.
thought: it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up
of our thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil a. Tale of Genji
thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows of b. The Adventures of Mulan
the ox that draws the carriage.’ c. The Tale of a Bamboo Cutter
d. Blind Willow
a. We must change for the better
b. We must think carefully _______13. The most famous ancient literature myth is
c. We must have right thoughts for a positive life ________.
d. We must work hard like an ox
a. The Rise and Fall of Ra
_____3. Philippine pre-colonial literature is best described b. Book of the Dead
by ______ themes. c. Coffin Texts and Oracle Bones
d. The Legend of Osiris
a. Sad and dramatic
b. Serious and imaginative ________14. The famous Nigerian Writer who wrote the
c. Playful and entertaining novel “When Things Fall Apart”.
d. Communal and Functional
a. Ali A. Mazrui
_____4. ___________ greatly influenced by Japanese Noh b. Wole Soyinka
“Mask” Play c. Olaudah Equiano
d. Chinua Achebe
a. Shintoism
b. Hinduism ________15. “Ibong Mandaragit” was written by
c. Zen ___________.
d. Buddhism
a. Amado V. Hernandez
_____5. __________ is Carlos Bulusan’s most famous b. Lualhati Baustista
autobiography. c. Virgilio Almario
d. Eduardo Reyes
a. Falling leaves
b. The laugher of my father ________16. The Egyptian Cinderella is called
c. America is in my heart ___________.
d. Footnote to youth
a. Nut
_____6. ___________ wrote the very first true novel, “The b. Rhodopis
Tale of Genji” c. Miral
d. Taha
a. Akutagawa Ryunosuki
b. Lady Murusaki Shikibu ________17. The famous author became Japan’s second
c. Kawabata Sayonari winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.
d. Lady Murusaka
a. Dazai Osamu
______7. This was written by Kerima Polotan-Tuvera. This b. Oe Kenzaburo
is about the story of Emma Mercene. c. Kobayashi Issa
d. Murukami Haruki
a. The Barangay
b. The Hand of the Enemy _______18. The author of this story is considered as the
c. A Child of Sorrow “Egyptian Shakespeare”.
d. The Filipino Rebel
a. Journey to the Land of the Dead
______8. The first Egyptian Nobel Prize winner in b. Doomed Prince
literature is _________. c. The Tale of Isis
d. Tale of Sinuhe
a. Sonallah Ibrahim
b. Abdel Hakim Qasem ________19. The longest epic in the world all about the
c. Yusuf Idris family of royals who struggled and fought each other for
d. Naguib Mahfouz the crown.
______9. The Ifugao HUDHUD immortalized hero is a. Odyssey
___________. b. Mahabharata
c. Ramayana
a. Lumawig d. Epic of Gilgamesh
b. Duluyan
c. Banna ________20. Which A short story (in the bible) which
d. Aliguyon contains a tactful protest against the forbidding of racial
intermarriage.
_______10. A Comedia usually ends with ____________.
a. Jonah
a. Death of a prince b. Ruth
b. Victory of Muslims c. Daniel
c. Death of a Queen d. Esther
d. Victory of Christians
________21. A kind of spoken Japanese drama that is _________31. The aristocratic or court style poem in
based upon the laughter and comedy. China finds its best expression in a group of poems
known as the _______________.
a. Noh
b. Kyogen a. Li Sao
c. Kabuki b. Five classics
d. Kaja c. Zaju
d. Elegies of Chu
_______22. __________ is the most authentic records of
Confucian teaching from which “Tao” or way was learned. _______32. It concerns Rama ( an incarnation of
Vishnu) and his wife Sita; Rama’s exile, Sita’s
a. Tu Fu faithfulness when tempted by Ravana, an evil spirit;
b. Analects and Rama’s eventual destruction of Ravana.
c. Shih Ching
d. Tao Te Ching a. Mhabharata
b. Vedas
_______23. A form of poetry developed during the c. Ramayana
Japanese Heian Period was ___________ or linked poems. d. Gora
a. Haiku ________33. It is defined by Hindu tradition as a
b. Tanka natural process of birth, death and rebirth.
c. Teika
d. Renga a. Immortalization
b. Rajas
_______24. Trickster Characters in Philippines and China c. Reincarnation
were often portrayed as Monkey, how about in African d. Tamaskarmas
literary pieces?
COMPREHENSION TEST:
a. Chinua the Fish
b. Anansi the Spider A. Two men were walking home after a party
c. Welewele the Rat and decided to take a shortcut through the
d. Nixau the Cow cemetery just for laughs. Right in the middle of
the cemetery they were startled by the tap-tap-
_______25. The Filipino writer well known for using local tapping noise coming from the misty shadows
colors in his works. trembling with fear, they found an old man with
a. Manuel Argullia a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of
b. Carlos Bulosan the headstones.
c. F. Sionil Jose
d. Juan C. Laya “O my God, Mister,” one of them said after
catching his breath, “You scared us half to death
______26. This Japanese poem consists of 5/7/5/7/7 – though you were a ghost! What are you doing
syllabic pattern. working here so late at night?” “Those fools!”
the old man grumbled. “They misspelled my
a. Haiku name.”
b. Tanka
c. Teika
d. Renga Answer questions 34 – 40.
34. Where did the story happen?
_______27. Rabindranath Tagore’s translation for 35. What did the two men hear from the misty shadows?
Gitanjali in English is _______________________. 36. Who do you think is the “Mister” story?
a. Patriotic Hymns 37. If you were one of the men, what would you do after
b. Devotional Songs hearing the Mister say, “They misspelled my name”?
c. Song of Offerings 38. Is the Mister in the story still alive?
d. Songs of Love 39. Will you be frightened upon hearing the man talk?
40. Why are the people afraid of visiting the cemeteries?
_______28. _____________ is considered as the most
widely read poet in history behind Shakespeare and Lo
Tzu. B. A kind hearted fellow was walking through the
Central Park in New York and was astonished to
a. Basho see an old man, fishing the rod, fishing over a
b. Jose Rizal beautiful bed of lilies.
c. Kahlil Gibran “Tch! Tch! Tch!” said the passer-by to himself.
d. Rabindranath Tagore “What a sad sight. That poor old man is fishing
over a bed of flowers. I’ll see if I can help.
________29. The great anthology known as the So the kind fellow walked up to the old man and
___________ contains 4,500 poems written by people asked, “What are you doing, my friend?”
from all walks of life, from emperors to peasants. “Fishin’, sir.” “Fishing, eh? Well how would you
like to come have a drink with me?”
a. Taketori Monogatari
The old man stood, put his rod away and
b. Hosomichi
followed the kind stranger to the corner bar. He
c. Man’yoshu
ordered a large glass of beer and a fine cigar.
d. Shin Kokin-shu
His host, the kind fellow felt good about helping
________30. The first great Chinese poet was the old man and so he asked, “Tell me, old
_____________. friend, how many did you catch this morning?”
The old fellow took a long drag on the cigar,
a. Confucius blew a careful smoke ring and replied, “You are
b. Lao Tzu the sixth, today sir.”
c. Li Po
d. Quan Yuan
Answer Questions 41 -47
41. What does “You are the sixth today, sir” mean?
42. What is the old man doing?
43. Is the old man taking advantage of the kindness of his
host? Why?
44. Is fishing the job of the old man?
45. What would you do if you see an old man like the one
in the story?
46. Does the old man catch a real fish?
47. What is real purpose of the man in fishing lilies?
C. A clergy was walking down the street when he
came upon a group of dozen boys, all of them
between 10 – 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the
boys were hurting the dog, he went over and
asked “What are you doing with that dog?”
One of the boys replied, “This dog is just an old
neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only
one of us could take him home. So we’ve
decided what whichever one of us can tell the
biggest lie will get to keep the dog.“
Of course, the reverend (priest) was taken a
back. “You boys shouldn’t be having a contest
telling lies!” he exclaimed. He then launched
into ten-minute sermon against lying, beginning,
“Don’t you boys known it’s a sin to lie,” and
ending with, “Why, when I was your age, I never
told a lie.”
There was a dead silence for about a minute.
Just as the reverend was beginning to think he’d
gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a
deep sigh and said, “All right, give him the dog.”
(Answer 47 – 52)
48. What did the clergyman think the boys were doing
with the dog?
49. How many boys did the clergyman find at the street?
50. What did the boys were doing with the dog?
51. What did the boys really want to do with the dog?
52. What was the condition before bringing home the
dog?
53. What does the boy mean by saying, “All right, give him
the dog.”?
54. If you were the clergyman and you saw the group of
boys doing the same thing, what would you do?
55. What does a clergy mean?
