ieilea
2 min readThe legend of the White Snake has provided inspiration for countless artworks and traditional operas It was not meant to be，however.An itinerant monk named Fahai could see Bai and Qingfor what they really were，and-dedicated to destroying all demons-told Xu the truth.
Terrified，Xu urged Fahai to attack，and Bai ended up trapped in the Leifeng Pagoda.Xu，finished with the material world，became a monk.
Now，originally，this was a horror story and it ended there.Bai is，after all，a demon.But over time the tale of the white snake changed.Bai，once the tale’s villain，became a heroine fighting for love against all odds.And Fahai，once the hero，became the closed-minded villain determined to keep humans and demons apart（even if they were the good，lovable kind of demons）.
In more recent tellings，Bai is not imprisoned by Fahai after her marriage with Xu，andXu is not aware that his wife is a snake demon.They open a medicine shop named Bao He Tang（保和堂）together and become widely known for giving away free herbs to people who can’t afford to pay.
One year during the Dragon Boat Festival，while Bai is pregnant with their first son，her husband brews up a special surprise recommended by Fahai:wine infused with herbs that expel all demons.Unable to think of a convincing excuse，Bai drinks the wine and immediately turns back into a snake.Her husband，shocked beyond belief，ups and dies.Bai returns to human form，obtains some sacred Kunlun Mountain herbs，and brings her husband back to life.
However，Fahai locked Xu away in Jinshan Temple for his own protection.Bai furiously destroys the temple，violating the laws of Heaven，and is doomed to eternal imprisonment in the Leifeng Pagoda.But some versions have Xiao Qing，the green snake demon，coming to her aid.As such，the story often ends with Bai，her husband，and their son reunited.
The legend of the white snake has stayed with Hangzhou over the years，with anecdotes of the loving couple dotting many scenic spots，from the Broken Bridge and the Leifeng Pagoda to the Bao He Tang TCM shop in Qinghefang.Couples come from all over China to experience the locations of this Hangzhou love story，even though they don’t really know how it ends.Then again，relationships are like that.
