Great Chinese Stories: The Legend of White Snake

A beloved tale of intrigue with characters who change shape. The fairy maiden, Bai Suzhen, a White Snake, struggles against the rascally turtle spirit who can transform into the monk, Fa Hai. One day, White Snake sees a beggar on the bridge who has caught a green snake and wants to sell it for food. White snake transforms into a woman and buys the green snake from the beggar, thus saving the green snake's life. The green snake is grateful to the white snake and she regards the white snake as an elder sister. The pair then attempt to foil Fa Hai’s plans to ruin White Snake’s romance. Great Chinese Stories is a new series featuring China’s most popular folk stories known and beloved for generations, presented here (some for the first time) in novelization form in order to make them more accessible to general readers and to open up the world of Chinese literature to a new audience. Many of these works originated as stage dramas and as precursors to Chinese opera. These unique adaptations capture the essence of the original Chinese dramatic flair, plot, characterization, subtle cultural nuances, and clever allegories, while making the books an exciting read for those who may be new to Chinese literature. These works, whether in the form of a love story or tragedy, often carry profound social commentary and moral lessons, which is one of the reasons they have stood the test of time.