What is the character of the White Snake? Is it really just kindness and gentleness?

Many readers think that the story of the White Snake was born out of Feng Menglong's "The White Snake Leifeng Pagoda in Yongzhen", but it is not. Feng Menglong is a great editor. He organized people to edit and publish the folklore of that time.

In modern terms, Feng Menglong is a bibliophile, not an author. There was no copyright consciousness in ancient times, so there was no plagiarism. There are many folk stories, and whoever makes them up belongs to them. There are many ancient books, and whoever finds them will belong to them.

In fact, Feng Menglong runs a cultural company, which specializes in storing books and selling money. This is a commercial activity, so many books have been adapted in a big way. After all, the books they keep must be interesting, suitable for ordinary people to read and typical consumer literature.

The story of the White Snake has undergone some changes in Feng Menglong's hands. Feng Menglong's story is adapted from the story book Pisces Lost in the Song Dynasty. This story tells the story of the white snake herring who cultivated into a fine, married Xu Xuan, stole official silver and opened a drugstore. These are all preserved by Feng Menglong in the Leifeng Tower of the White Snake.

In all novels, plays and scripts before the Qing Dynasty, the White Snake is the representative of evil spirits and a symbol of evil. During the Qianlong period, many dramas began to transform the role of White Snake in order to cater to the audience. The direction of transformation is to make her positive, among which Fang Chengpei's thirty-fourth adaptation of The Legend of Leifeng Tower has a great influence.

Fang Chengpei is particularly good at marketing. When he visited Gannan, he specially produced the script. There is no clear record in history whether Master Gan Long has seen this play or not, and he doesn't know his attitude, but Fang Chengpei made a big fuss about it.

Fang Chengpei hung up the signboard of "Lord Qianlong's Imperial View", and the scene of "The Legend of Leifeng Tower" became more and more popular. Because this is an ordinary script, it is widely circulated.

In this script, Ms. White Snake changed from an evil leprechaun to a kind yogi.

During the Jiaqing period, the White Snake was given the word "The Legend of the Demon", which was completely beautified. The snake demon white lady became a gentle and kind white lady. This process has gone through hundreds of years and has a deep foundation among the people. In many plays during the Tongzhi period, the story of White Snake was fuller and closer to the needs of the people.

Some people say that the story of the white snake reflects the story of the resistance of the oppressed class. In fact, this statement is the result of special age consciousness, which is not the case. Beautifying the white snake is an official act.

The reason for this beautification is to increase the interest of the story and better meet the tastes of ordinary people.

For contemporary people, the new legend of the white snake basically fixed their understanding of the story of the white snake. Angie Chiu's performance is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the story of the white snake has entered thousands of households.