The Legend of the White Snake

Japanese: 白蛇伝 - はくじゃでん

A Chinese folktale. Also known as "Leifeng Pagoda" and "The Legend of the Demon." It is a love story set at West Lake between the white snake spirit Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian. The story originated in the Song dynasty, and gradually changed from an early plot in which a Taoist priest slays a demonic snake, and in 18th century playbooks the white snake is personified and appears as a rebel against the Buddhist monks who are blocking his relationship with a young man, and a rebel against feudal society. In older plays, the martial arts in the scenes "The Rat's Grass of an Immortal" and "The Jinshan Temple" and the singing in "The Broken Bridge" and "The Pagoda" are famous. It has spread throughout the country as Peking opera, regional drama, and storytelling. [Yoshikawa Yoshikazu]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国の民話。別名《雷峰塔》《義妖伝》。白蛇の精，白素貞と許仙との西湖を舞台とした恋愛故事。話のもとはすでに宋代にあって，初期の道士が妖蛇を退治する筋から徐々に変化し，18世紀の劇本には白蛇が擬人化されて青年との仲をはばむ仏僧への抵抗者，封建社会への反抗者として登場する。旧劇では〈盗仙草〉〈金山寺〉の場の武技，〈断橋〉〈祭塔〉の歌唱が有名。京劇や地方劇，語り物として全国に流布している。【吉川良和】

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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