The Tale of the White Snake in Republican-Era Chinese Retellings

Record summary

The Legend of the White Snake concerns a serpent spirit who assumes human form, marries a man, and becomes involved in conflicts between desire, Buddhist authority, and supernatural classification. During the Republican period, the story circulated through opera, popular fiction, print editions, and performance, making it a valuable case for studying adaptation and changing attitudes toward animal-human transformation. The tradition has much older roots, so a researcher should identify the particular 1900–1946 edition or performance record rather than present the legend as a contemporary encounter.