The Chinese myth of the immortal white snake - Shunan Teng

6,040,885 views ・ 2019-05-07

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:06
The talented young herbalist named Xu Xian was in trouble.
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It should have been a victorious moment–
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he had just opened his very own medicine shop.
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But he bought his supplies from his former employer,
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and the resentful man sold him rotten herbs.
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As Xu Xian wondered what to do with this useless inventory,
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patients flooded into his shop.
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A plague had stricken the city,
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and he had nothing to treat them.
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Just as he was starting to panic,
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his wife, Bai Su Zhen, produced a recipe to use the rotten herbs as medicine.
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Her remedy cured all the plague-afflicted citizens immediately.
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Xu Xian’s former boss even had to buy back some of the rotten herbs
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to treat his own family.
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00:48
Shortly after, a monk named Fa Hai approached Xu Xian,
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warning him that there was a demon in his house.
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The demon, he said, was Bai Su Zhen.
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Xu Xian laughed.
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His kindhearted, resourceful wife was not a demon.
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01:03
Fa Hai insisted.
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01:04
He told Xu Xian to serve his wife realgar wine on the 5th day of the 5th month,
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when demons’ powers are weakest.
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If she wasn’t a demon, he explained, it wouldn’t hurt her.
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Xu Xian dismissed the monk politely,
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with no intention of serving Bai Su Zhen the wine.
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But as the day approached, he decided to try it.
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As soon as the wine touched Bai Su Zhen’s lips,
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she ran to the bedroom, claiming she wasn’t feeling well.
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Xu Xian prepared some medicine and went to check on her.
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But instead of his wife,
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he found a giant white serpent with a bloody forked tongue in the bed.
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He collapsed, killed by the shock.
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When Bai Su Zhen opened her eyes,
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she realized immediately what must have happened.
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The truth was that Bai Su Zhen was an immortal snake
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with formidable magical powers.
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She had used her powers to take a human form
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and improve her and her husband’s fortunes.
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Her magic couldn’t revive Xu Xian,
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but she had one more idea to save him:
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02:00
an herb that could grant longevity and even bring the dead back to life,
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02:05
guarded by the Old Man of the South Pole
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in the forbidden peaks of the Kun Lun Mountains.
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She rode to the mountains on a cloud,
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then continued on foot passed gateways and arches
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until she reached one marked “beyond mortals”
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hanging over a silver bridge.
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On the other side,
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two of the Old Man’s disciples guarded the herb.
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Bai Su Zhen disguised herself as a monk
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and told them she’d come to invite the Old Man to a gathering of the gods.
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While they relayed her message,
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she plucked some leaves from the herb and ran.
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The servants realized they had been tricked and chased her.
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Bai Su Zhen coughed up a magic ball and threw it at one.
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As the other closed in on her,
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she put the herb under her tongue for safekeeping,
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but its magic forced both of them into their true forms.
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As the crane’s long beak clamped around her,
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the Old Man appeared.
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Why, he asked, would she risk her life to steal his herb
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when she was already immortal?
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03:00
Bai Su Zhen explained her love for Xu Xian.
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Even if he didn’t want to be with her now that he knew she was a demon,
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she was determined to bring him back to life.
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The two had a karmic connection dating back more than a thousand years.
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When Bai Su Zhen was a small snake,
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a beggar was about to kill her,
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but a kind passerby rescued her.
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Her rescuer was Xu Xian in a past life.
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Touched by her willingness to risk her life for him,
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the Old Man permitted her to leave the mountain with the immortal herb.
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Bai Su Zhen returned home to revive Xu Xian.
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When he opened his eyes,
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the terrified look frozen on his face became a smile.
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Demon or not,
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he was still happy to see his wife.
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