The most awesome man in the history of mythology must be Xu Xian. He had three women, all of whom were human.

The first of Xu Xian’s three daughters-in-law is widely known, White Snake.

The story of Xu Xian and White Snake was first seen in Feng Menglong's "Warning Words" The White Snake will forever guard Leifeng Pagoda.

In this story, he is also called Xu Xuan, which is similar to the name in "White Snake. Origin", but this version of Xu Xian is not as affectionate as Ah Xuan.

The first time Xu Xian met Bai Niangzi was on a boat. She fell in love at first sight. Bai Niangzi invited Xu Xian to her house for tea. It was still raining when she got off the boat, so Xu Xian lent Bai Niang an umbrella.

In this story, the identity of the white lady is very interesting, she is a widow.

She herself said that her brother was a high official in the government.

Dian Zhi, a paid idle official, married an official named Zhang. Her husband died.

The Nu family is the sister of Bai Dianzhi of Bai Sanban. She married a man from Zhang Guan. Unfortunately, she passed away and was buried in Leiling.

Why did Feng Menglong arrange for White Snake to be a widow?

Probably because it was not easy for ladies to go out in the Ming Dynasty, while married women had relatively less restrictions on going out and showing off. There were some things that a married young woman could say, but it was difficult for a girl in the boudoir to say them.

For example, Xu Xian lent his umbrella to White Snake and his master and servant, and wanted to pick it up. Did he return it if he borrowed it?

That umbrella originally belonged to an old boatman and was made by the time-honored Shujia brand with eighty-four strands of purple bamboo handles. Xu Xian also wanted to take the opportunity of asking for an umbrella to meet the young lady again.

Xu Xian went there twice, but the first time he failed to get the result. The second time, White Snake proposed to him directly:

The slave's husband died, so he must have had a relationship with an official. Marriage in the past life, falling in love at first sight, it is you who have the intention and I have the intention.

This is too direct. We met three times in one visit. It’s up to you and I to decide. The ancients were really upright.

So being a widow still has advantages.

Xu Xian’s answer was more straightforward, saying: I am happy to marry you. But I have no money, let alone buying a house or a car. I don’t even have money to buy clothes and treat guests to a banquet.

The white lady was happy and said: You don’t have it, I have it.

The white lady asked Xiaoqing to take out fifty taels of silver and give it to Xu Guanren to go home and buy a dowry.

Xu Xian stayed at her sister's house, and her brother-in-law was an official of the county government. Xu Xian went home and took out the money and said that she was getting married, and asked her sister and brother-in-law to help buy things.

The silver looked familiar to my brother-in-law. Isn’t this the government’s lost treasury silver? It turned out that my brother-in-law had stolen it.

What to do?

The brother-in-law did not hesitate, he decisively killed the family and reported to his brother-in-law:

Xu Xian was taken to the government, but before the master could execute him, Xu Xian was all killed.

The yamen servants took people to White Snake’s house. They had already gone to control the building, and there was no shortage of money from the government.

Xu Xian was sentenced to be sent to Suzhou, but he was exempted from assassination.

What does it mean? Just don’t have to tattoo their faces like Song Jiang and others.

White Snake is a beauty-controller. If Xu Xian had a rosy look on his face, he probably wouldn’t be able to make friends happily.

Xu Xian's brother-in-law felt that what he did in reporting his brother-in-law was a bit dishonest, so he asked Xu Xian to avoid having to work hard after arriving in Suzhou, and stayed in the home of a host named Wang who ran an inn.

Xu Xian stayed at Master Wang’s house for two days, when White Snake and Xiao Qing came.

Xu Xian said, you are goblins, stealing money from the government.

The white lady said: We are not goblins, that money was obtained by my damn husband, Lao Zhang, and I don’t know what happened.

So the two reconciled.

Under the help of Master Wang, Xu Xian and White Snake entered the bridal chamber, worshiping heaven and earth.

Xu Xian, who was angry with White Snake, was not angry at all after the wedding:

After half a year at Master Wang’s house, one day Xu Xian went to visit Chengtian Temple and met A seasoned man.

The old Taoist glanced at him and said: You ladies are not good people.

Xu Xian said: I think so.

The old Taoist said: I will give you a Five Thunder Talisman. Don’t let your wife see it. If you burn it in the middle of the night, she will reveal her true form.

Xu Xian took the talisman home and did as he was told.

I burned the charm in the middle of the night, but nothing happened.

Xu Xian wondered if the Taoist priest was tricking him. White Snake woke up, looked at him and said: I said I am not a goblin, you still don’t believe me.

Xu Xian said: I believe it was the old Taoist from Chengtian Temple who said that I was haunted by monsters.

The white lady said: Tomorrow we will go meet the old master.

The old Taoist was too weak to fight against the White Snake, so she shrank into a pile and hung in the air.

But the White Snake didn’t want his life and let him go.

Two months later, there was another temple fair in Chengtian Temple, and Xu Xian wanted to go see it again.

The white lady said: Look, your clothes are old. Let me dress you up.

So Xiaoqing was asked to bring some clothes:

Wearing a black lacquer headscarf, a pair of white jade rings on the back of the head, a Qingluo Taoist robe, a pair of soap boots on his feet, and holding in his hand A delicate hundred-fold gold-painted beauty coral pendant with a spring fan

As a result, not long after Xu Xian left home, the government took it away again.

It turns out that a pawn shop was stolen last night, and what Xu Xian was wearing and holding in his hands were all things from the pawn shop.

Xu Xian also betrayed the White Snake very straightforwardly and said: These things belong to my wife. My wife lives in Master Wang’s house. You go and catch her.

I sent someone to Master Wang’s house, but in vain. Bai Niangzi and Xiao Qing were gone, but there were still a lot of things in the pawn shop.

At this time, Xu Xian and his brother-in-law were on a business trip in Suzhou. When he heard that his brother-in-law was causing trouble again, he quickly took out the money and asked someone to carry out a campaign and sent Xu Xian to Zhenjiang again.

Before leaving, my brother-in-law told Xu Xian that I also have an acquaintance in Zhenjiang. His name is Li Keyong, who runs a herbal medicine shop. He is a businessman with our family. You can just go and join him.

After arriving in Zhenjiang, Xu Xian found a job in Li Keyong's herbal medicine shop and settled down. White Snake came again.

Xu Xian saw the White Lady and thought that it was thanks to this girl that he was betrothed twice. He became very angry and wanted to divorce her. The White Lady argued: Those clothes are not mine. Yes, it was left by my ex-husband. I thought it was good for you to wear.

So Xu Xian forgave her again.

It seems that regardless of whether it is true or not, my ex-husband is a good scapegoat.

The shopkeeper of the herbal medicine shop is called Li Keyong. Although he is very old, he still has a strong interest in lesbians. The question he thinks about every day when he goes out is: Will there be someone selling cooking cakes today? Little lady, are you going to hit me with a bamboo pole?

He didn't meet the little lady selling cooking cakes, but he met Xu Xian's lady.

After Xu Xian and his wife met, they brought their daughter-in-law to the Li Mansion for a visit. Li Keyong stopped thinking about food and tea when he saw the White Snake:

The correct procedure for this kind of thing should be to find a Mother Wang did a feasibility analysis and issued a report on "Five things are very bright".

But Li Yuanwai’s operations were much more vigorous.

On his birthday around the Dragon Boat Festival, Li Yuanwai invited Xu Xian and his wife to a banquet, and he peeped while White Lady was going to the toilet.

This operation is so heavy-handed.

Then Yuan Li was frightened and fainted by a big white snake.

In the original story, it was not Xu Xian who was frightened and fainted, so the Stealing Immortal Grass was naturally gone. Moreover, Li Yuanwai recovered as before after taking two Liuwei Dihuang Pills, and his mental endurance was also incredible.

After coming back, Mrs. Bai and Xu Xian said that Mr. Li wanted to tease me and pushed me away. Xu Xian is also a bloody person and said:

This logic is amazing.

Mrs. Bai had nothing to do with this man, so she paid for Xu Xian to open a herbal medicine shop by himself, and no longer allowed him to work anywhere outside Yuan Li.

Several months passed peacefully like this.

One day there was another temple fair at Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, and Xu Xian wanted to go to Jinshan Temple to watch it.

Every time he goes to the temple something happens, but Xu Xian has a short memory and is also a god.

The White Snake didn’t want him to go, but she couldn’t stop him, so she made a promise with him that if he didn’t come back after dark, she would go find him.

Xu Xian met a monk, Fahai, at Jinshan Temple.

Fahai glanced at him and said: You bitches are not good people.

Xu Xian said: I think so.

So he stayed at Jinshan Temple. In the evening, White Snake and Xiaoqing took a boat to find Xu Xian. They came very quickly and in an instant. Xu Xian was hiding behind Fahai very spinelessly. Fahai shouted A sound:

The white lady took a look and said, holy shit, this monk is so high-ranking, at least gold, and he is silver. He couldn't beat him, so he dived and ran away.

There is no flood to flood the golden mountain, but the prototype of the flood to flood the golden mountain is already there.

Xu Xian turned over and knelt down to Fahai and said:

Fahai told him that he would be able to return to Hangzhou in a few days. If White Snake still comes to pester you, you can go to Hunan. Jingci Temple is looking for me.

Xu Xian secretly cursed: Old monk, Hangzhou, Hunan, are you kidding me?

Not long after, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty appointed Emperor Xiaozong, and the world was amnesty. Xu Xian returned to his sister and brother-in-law's home in Hangzhou.

As expected, someone was waiting for him. White Snake’s master and servant had already arrived at his sister’s house.

Xu Xian complained that Bai Niangzi had made him suffer a lot. Bai Niangzi said that she and him were husband and wife, but he listened to the instigation of outsiders:

The second half of the sentence was probably a threat, This may also be the origin of the story that the water flooded the Jinshan Mountain.

But from beginning to end in this story, the White Snake was scaring Xu Xian without harming anyone. Even Xu Xian and his sister and brother-in-law found a snake catcher to catch the White Snake, but she just scared away the catcher. Just snake people.

Xu Xian met Fahai again, but Fahai did not go to the Jingci Temple in Hunan as promised.

Fahai took action to capture Bai Niangzi and Xiao Qing, and forced them under the Leifeng Pagoda. Xu Xian also became a monk and went around begging for alms to build the tower higher.

This is the original story of The Legend of White Snake.

Later Tsui Hark made "Green Snake", and Xu Xian in the movie really looked like Xu Xuan in Feng Menglong's novel.

Among dozens of stories, the story of the White Snake has become one of the four major folk legends. This is probably because the common people feel that the White Snake does no harm to anyone and just wants to live a simple life with Xu Xian. , but met a scumbag and was torn apart. It was so pitiful, so people made various extensions to this story.

The story of "The Legend of White Snake" continues to evolve and develop. Xu Xian is no longer so cold-blooded. The White Snake has a child, and Baita rescues her.

Text: Xue Baipao