千年“蛇妖”化美女

《白蛇傳》是中國四大民間傳說之一，它講述了在四川峨嵋修行千年的白蛇幻化成了白娘子，因“偶愛繁華去帝畿”，攜青蛇小青“思凡下山”來到杭州西湖，與藥店伙計許仙在“同舟”、“借傘”中相戀相識結成婚姻，后來不幸“端陽酒變”，顯露蛇形嚇死許仙，為救丈夫一命她與小青毅然去“嵩山盜草”，并與橫加干涉其婚姻的法海和尚拼死惡斗，甚至“水漫金山”，最后不幸被法海“合缽”鎮壓于杭州雷峰塔下。

白蛇傳故事肇于庸、五代，基本成型于南宋時期的杭州，至元朝時故事被文人編成雜劇和話本，明清以來，民間的口頭文學和各類俗文藝的改編搬演相互滲透相互融合，使白蛇傳最終成為涉及故事、歌謠、寶卷、小說、演義、話本、戲曲、彈詞以至電影、電視、動漫、舞蹈、連環畫等各種文藝形式的經典題材，它的影響之大、流傳之廣，不僅國內家喻戶曉，并遠播日本、朝鮮、越南、印度等許多國家。

《白蛇傳》所以能成為具有鮮明民族性和悠久歷史傳統的一個家喻戶曉偉大悲劇故事，所以能成為我國民族文學的精髓和光輝典范，那是因為它經過了我國無數勞動者、文字工作者歷經千年的口頭創作和文字加工增刪的結果：

經過千年演繹，《白蛇傳》主人公從吃人“蛇妖”蛻變為具有善良人性的美麗女子。中華民族遠古時代就有“美女蛇”的傳說故事，華夏最早的美女蛇可能要算女媧了，她“人面蛇身，一日中七十變”，與女媧曾為兄妹或丈婦的伏羲，自然也是“男性蛇”，其他如共工、黃帝、堯、禹，皆為“龍蛇所變”，在這之后，我們的祖先便把蛇作為我們華夏民族的圖騰崇拜物，因而我國古時便出現了眾多的有關蛇的故事和傳說，所以中華民族早在形成過程中便有了產生《白蛇傳》的民俗基礎。到了唐代，筆記小說《白蛇記》中，就講了兩個大肆渲染白蛇化作美女勾引男子的可怕故事：一個故事說，唐憲宗元年隴西李黃在長安市東遇見一個穿白色孝服的美麗少婦，為其勾引，在她家“一住三日，飲樂無所不至”，第四日回家，就覺得“身重頭旋”，臥床不起，被底下的身子逐漸消蝕，只剩一股血水。后來家里人去尋那白衣美女的家，只有一座空園和一棵皂莢樹。聽鄰居說此樹常有大白蛇蟠繞，家人才知少婦為“蛇妖”所變；另一個故事說，唐元和中，鳳翔節度使李聽的侄子李，在安化門外遇見一輛豪華的馬車，隨在車旁的是兩個穿白衣、 乘白馬的漂亮女婢。李為其吸引，就尾隨車子直奔奉誠園。后來一個婢女把他招進園內，與一個十六七歲穿白衣的姑娘同宿園中。第二天早晨回家覺得頭痛難受，不多時就“腦裂而卒”。家里人找到奉誠園，園內空蕩蕭條，“但見枯槐中有大蛇蟠屈”，才知李死于“蛇妖”之害。

宋元時期的話本《西湖三塔記》和爾后洪邁在《夷堅志》中寫的故事，還是“蛇妖害人”：前者說杭州有三個女妖用各種幻化手段迷惑男人，害死許多人命，后被人擒獲，鎮壓在石塔下面，其中的“白衣娘子”就是一條白蛇變化的“女妖”；后者說丹陽縣有個姓孫的娶了個妻子頗有姿色，著素衣衫，但每次洗澡時卻用重帷蔽降，不讓婢女伺候。有一次孫某微醉，伺妻子入浴，鉆縫窺視，正見大蛇蟠于盆內，其狀恐怖異常，此一驚嚇使孫某如負芒刺，“怏怏成疾，未逾歲而亡。”這些故事雖然與民間口頭流傳的白蛇故事有許多不同，但總脫不了“蛇妖”化成美女害人一說。

到了明代，通俗文學家馮夢龍對市井流傳的白蛇傳說和采納各種話本進行加工，定名為《白娘子永鎮雷峰塔》，這是我們今天能看到的最早、最完整的《白蛇傳》寫定本。由于時代的前進，寫定本中不僅增添了南宋以后的大量生活情景，而且以往那種精魅害人之類的觀念被基本拋棄，將白娘子的形象從“蛇妖” 蛻化為“蛇仙”，并使之成為一個具有善良人性的美麗女子，加之后來清乾隆年間黃圖泌整理的昆曲本《雷峰塔傳奇》，更把白素貞的形象升華為“追求自由”，“敢愛敢恨”、“對愛情堅貞不二”，并具備了“婦女們普遍具有的追求自由幸福的善良愿望和堅強性格”的美麗女子。

她在婚姻上有自己的擇偶標準。“舟遇”中她有這樣一段表白：“花柳繽紛，笙歌繚繞，不免春心蕩漾， 情思迷離。無奈這些游人，大半凡夫俗子，豈解調琴鼓瑟?今有臨安許仙，前往保薦靈，貌既不凡，情亦可眷，并非偶遇。不免帶同青兒前去，候于中途，隨機取事。”這段表白可以看出，白氏素貞早已不是“吸人精髓”的妖孽，而是一位充滿理想情趣的女性，她擇偶愛人品，重氣質，即使許仙家貧她亦一見鐘情；她與許仙婚后一往情深，柔情蜜意，充分表現了華夏女性普遍具有的溫柔和對愛的執著。她見許仙貧困，竟不計后果使出“靈蛇”性子去盜官銀，致使許仙蒙受牢獄之災。對于這種暫時離散，她竟茶飯不思，無法面對：“不禁的路迷夢里，月落梁間，這寂寞何曾懼也?垂成轉艱難，何以解煩愁?還上望夫山，但愿珠重合、鏡重圓、曲重彈、妾重歡、郎重盼!……”

她“端陽”現形本可避免，但她眷戀丈夫，尊敬丈夫，因而“本當不飲歸羅帳，猶恐把夫妻情意傷”，

拒絕了小青的勸告，端陽之時獨自留下陪伴丈夫，明知飲雄黃有現形和失去丈夫的危險，但出于感情支配，強制自己遵從丈夫愿望，喝下了雄黃酒。當許仙頓時嚇死之后，她沒有撇開丈夫另尋新歡，竟拼其一死盜仙草挽救丈丈性命，這是一種高度人性和傳統美德的體現。

經過千年演繹，《白蛇傳》在情節上去陳腐、削累贅、去枝蔓，從“樂莫樂兮新相知”到“悲莫悲兮生別離”，成了一出大起大落、震撼人心的悲劇。

許仙的身世歷經變更成了店倌。故事流傳中許仙有著多種多樣的身世，開始他是樵夫的后代、郎中的后代，后來演化為“換糖佬”兒子、豪門的“讀書小官人”，最后變成處于當時社會底層的藥店倌。藥店倌這個身份就使得白娘子愛許仙有了同《田螺姑娘》《天仙配》《畫中人》愛窮苦莊稼人有了基本相同理由，這種愛、更符合感動人民的良好愿望和藝術趣味；

白素貞的敵人從六個開始后來集中、固定于法海神師一個。故事流傳初期白娘子先后遇上了六個敵人：

一是臨安府(杭州)人尹及其下屬官吏為追盜官銀者要抓白娘子和許仙坐牢；二是送靈符給許仙令其“鎮壓白蛇”的終南山道士；三是因典當庫失竊而懷疑許仙的蘇州府尹及其下屬官吏；四是垂涎于白娘子美色、心存不軌的鎮江李克用員外；五是有祖上七八代皆能喚蛇捉蛇而今仍以此為業者的“戴先生”；六是手持缽盂、法術無邊的法海和尚。故事流傳到后來，六個敵人只剩法海和尚，這是因為法海畢竟是這六個中最兇惡最強大的一個，其他的敵人后來都成了“枝蔓”，故爾后，白素貞與法海和尚的斗爭就顯得更集中、更激烈也更加體現出這出悲劇的社會意義；

去掉“妖氛”，不再“出蛇”。由于白娘子是“峨嵋白蛇修仙而成”，所以故事開始流傳時不時會“出蛇”以增加恐怖氣氛，到了馮夢龍的《白娘子永鎮雷峰塔》中，還讓白素貞兩次化蛇：“一條吊桶來粗大白蛇，兩眼一似燈盞”，“張開血盆大口廣露出雪白的大牙”，它殺氣騰騰地警告許仙：“小乙倌!我如今實對你說，若聽我言喜喜歡歡，萬事皆休，若生外心，教你立即化膿化血!……”到了乾隆初年黃圖泌昆曲本《雷鋒塔傳奇》中，在《法剿》《捉蛇》里也有“白蟒”登場，并用煙火來渲染“妖氣”。這無疑損害了主人公形象，給人們造成理解上、情感上的混亂，這些敗筆，爾后經過無數人的口頭創作，終于煙消灰滅，不再流傳；

“摒棄”昌洞賓賣湯圓傳說。民間流傳“白娘子前世吃了呂洞賓賣的湯圓，增加五百年功力”，并又“得到南極仙翁暗助”，但法海和尚也渴望吞服呂洞賓湯圓，可惜搶不過白素貞，由此他“為報一箭之仇而用塔鎮壓白素貞”。這種“前世有冤”的說法，極大削弱了白氏素貞與法海相斗的社會意義，到了清末已不再流傳。

刪除《回湖》《彰報》《懺悔》情節，白娘子不再“懲罰”漁民。原先故事流傳白娘子在水斗中因漁民捕魚捉蝦妨礙她與法海斗法，故“白氏素貞作起法來，將湖上捕魚捉蝦者皆變成蝦兵、蟹將”，白氏戲弄了漁民，倒是法海有“善心”，為救護漁民他再與白娘子惡斗。這些情節違反常理，后經億萬勞動者加工，終將其全部摒棄。

此外，《白蛇傳》不但在故事情節中一次又一次地加入了當時社會生活、宗教信仰、民間禮俗，還將故事的發生地有名有地放進了我國最秀美的人間天堂蘇杭兩地。杭州許多景色后來會成為全國和世界人民所知曉，引起了思古憑吊之幽情，這恐怕和《白蛇傳》的傳說分不開。我國四大民間故事的特色之一，就是能和祖國名勝和大自然環境相結合，如《孟姜女》與萬里長城、《梁祝》與浙江上虞祝家莊。

經過千年演繹，《白蛇傳》的主題意義得到極大升華，從“蛇妖纏人”、“勸人戒色”一躍而成為中華民族反封建、反迫害一曲壯美贊歌。

千年流傳和前人的創作結果，白素貞的形象從開始的“仇恩說”、“前世姻緣說”、“妖邪說”轉化為反抗封建禮教，追求婚姻自由的美麗善良女性。白娘子所以下凡，開始說她原是凡間一條蛇，她被捕蛇者捕獲后被許仙所救，故她下得凡間與許仙成親、報恩；也有一說是釋迦如來說她與凡塵許仙自有一段劫數，故讓她降落凡間，這些情節當然使白素貞的反抗形象蒙上一層因果輪回的迷信色彩，后經歲月洗滌，白娘子的反封建形象終于脫穎而出；

許仙形象從一個助紂為虐者變成個雖有動搖但不負妻子的男人，成為與白素貞一樣的受法海迫害者。清乾隆末年方成培整理的昆曲本《雷峰塔傳奇》中，作為白素貞丈夫的許訕，還是個冷酷無情的負心賊：他宣稱“惱恨當初結此緣”，決心“除去那妖魔免纏繞，夙世孽緣一筆掃!”他甘愿充當法海走卒，扮演劊子手角色，居然接過法海法缽，按法海囑咐，利用妻子信任，一邊甜言蜜語迷惑妻子，一邊乘妻不備驟然下手；“昨奉禪師之命，叫我今日收取妖孽!”“我此時不下手更待何時?”“妖孽，你也有今日嚇!”清乾隆《殘本》，終于為許仙恢復了良心：“我夜來返想前事，白氏雖系妖魔，與我恩情一載，并無害我之心，況遺下一子。我仔細想來，許仙真薄幸人也!”后來當法海喚來伽藍捧缽上場時，許仙說：“法海!我與你無仇無怨無來往，你不該將我妻子暗計傷。……今日里我拼卻一命救妻身，娘子你快快掙脫這金光。”又說：“娘子啊!縱然你是靈蛇變，許仙決不改心腸，愿與你百年相伴同到老，愿與你娘子同存亡!”許仙形象的改變，廣大百姓是贊許的。

法海禪師亦從原先的“捉妖驅魔”、“沐護黎民蒼生”者演化為口喊“慈悲為懷”實際上是個老奸巨猾、面目睜獰的封建衛道士。為除卻白素貞，他在凈慈告訴許仙：“你將此缽藏好，那符咒休遺掉!做夫妻一載，盡此今宵，休思舊日恩情，斬斷無牽撇了。休認做巫山廟，早回頭永除煩惱，那時任逍遙!”在當代越劇里，更把法海的卑鄙惡毒刻畫得入木三分：他不但把許仙騙上山來拘在禪房，更在白娘子分娩之后“身弱力衰”之時，不顧那才滿月的嬰兒，用金缽鎮壓了白素貞，活活拆散了人家夫妻和母子，真是寫盡了“慈悲為懷”的虛偽本性，難怪白娘子罵他是“手持念珠、口念彌陀的殺人屬夫”!

值得稱道的是，《白蛇傳》在流傳中最終被斬去了一大截“尾巴”，這讓它的主題意義進一步得到升華，從而最終使它成為一個偉大的悲劇。原來早先流傳的故事中，當故事進行到白氏素貞被法海神師的金缽罩住，被壓于雷鋒塔底之后，還有故事延續，那就白娘子兒子許士麟中了狀元，他“蒙皇恩賜祭”，孝感天地，終于使神、佛釋放了白娘子，并將她引渡皈依佛門，超升天界。這一敗筆使故事真正融入了“非狀元不團圓”的窠臼，好事者無疑是“畫蛇添足”，削弱了悲劇力量。好在故事流傳到后來，有識之士終于將其拋卻，升華了這場悲劇。

魯迅說：悲劇便是“將人生有價值的東西毀滅給人看”，悲劇是人的偉大的痛苦，“是人生中驚心動魄的事”，《白蛇傳》這偉大悲劇正是訴說了白素貞與許仙的纏綿之愛，被封建衛道士法海活生生地毀于一旦。這個經千百萬人創作的動人故事躋身于我國古代最優秀的文學遺產之列，它是當之無愧的。

From A Monster Snake to a Beauty

By Lang Yiqian

“The Tale of Madam White Snake? one of the four major Chinese folk legends， is about a white snake that successfully turns itself into a beautiful woman with a magic power after cultivating vital energy for 1，000 years at the foot of Mount Emei in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province.

The tale about a white snake originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and took shape initially in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)， it was adapted for various local operas and story-telling performances. From the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) onward， the tale about a snake-turned woman saving her husband from death and their marriage from a ghost-busting monk appealed so much to the imagination of people that it made its way into various arts such as literary sketches， paintings， short stories， legends， ballads， folk operas， and story-telling. In modern times， the tale has been adapted to feature films， teleplays， animation films， dancing and cartoon strips， etc. Moreover， the popular tale has spread to our neighboring countries such as Japan， Korea， Vietnam and India.

The way the tale turned from a scary monster story into a tragic romance and a classic masterpiece represents joint efforts and enthusiasm of numerous writers and artists over centuries.

Modern critics have summarized three major changes in the story over centuries to explain its growing popularity.

Firstly， the millennium evolution of the tale has turned a man-eating serpent into a beautiful woman with human virtue.

Legends about snakes abounded even in the earliest days of the Chinese civilization. In one primitive tale， a snake with a beautiful female face changes itself seventy times a day. It is believed that these ancient legends form the very basis of the tale of madam white snake. A Tang-Dynasty scholar penned a literary sketch about two white snakes that turned themselves into girls and seduced a man before killing him. Another literary sketch of the Tang period also relates a story about the son of a high-ranking official. The young man followed a mysterious and elegant carriage accompanied by two servant girls in white. The servant girls later introduced the curious follower to their lady， a young woman in white. The young man spent the night with her in a garden and died next morning back home. His family searched the garden and found the culprit， a huge serpent， inside a tree hole.

Images of the white snake in stories in the Song and Yuan dynasties were still evil. But in these stories， we can see how the monster scares the husband to death after taking a cup of herbal wine and how the snake is finally banished into a vault under a pagoda. These plots were to appear in the famous story of madam white snake.

It was in the Ming period (1368-1644) that Feng Menglong (1574-1646)， a popular short story writer who collected and anthologized many folk stories， produced a full-length legend of madam white snake based on various snake stories. This is the earliest complete tale available today. In Feng’s account， the everyday life in the Southern Song Dynasty is vividly depicted; instead of being a man-eating devil， the white snake becomes a kind-hearted woman that pursues love and happiness. The Kunqu Opera scenario of “The Legend of Thunder Peak Pagoda? edited by Huang Tubi during the years of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， portrays the white snake as a courageous woman who dares to love and hate. Secondly， the plots of the tale are simplified.

Xu Xian， the husband of the white snake， assumes different identities in earlier versions， in which he varies from a son of a woodcutter， of a doctor， of a candy vendor， to a young scholar from a wealthy family. But in the end， he is an assistant in an herbal pharmacy shop， that is， just nobody.

The number of the white snake’s arch enemies dwindles from six to one. In earlier versions， the enemies include a magistrate in Hangzhou who accuses the woman and her husband of robbing the government’s treasury vault， a Taoist monk who gives a charm to Xu Xian to use against his snake wife， another government official in Suzhou who also suspects the white snake is involved in a government treasury robbery， a landlord who covets Xu Xian’s beautiful wife， a snake catcher whose family has been in the business of catching snakes for more than seven generations， and finally the Monk Fahai with a complete range of magic power at his disposal. In the end， however， the monk is the only archrival left to break up the snake’s happy marriage.

The snake image no longer appears in the story. In earlier versions， the wife occasionally turns back into a snake， baring the fangs and flaunting the blood-dripping mouth and the lantern-like eyes. But these bone-chilling elements are sanitized in later versions.

Thirdly， the theme of the tale has sublimated.

It is no longer a morality tale against abandoning oneself to wanton libido. Nor is it about revenge and a debt of gratitude， or about a predestined marriage， or about a monster.

Instead， it is now a drama of fighting against feudal taboos and persecution. In the modern tragedy， the snake lady is a virtuous woman in pursuit of worldly happiness. The husband is no longer a man who helps the monk to exorcize his monster wife. Instead， the husband wars against himself after learning the truth of his wife’s identity but finally makes up his mind to protect the marriage. He is a man victimized by the monk.

In earlier versions， the monk is an honorable monster buster. But in later versions， he becomes a crafty scoundrel who does everything in his power to maintain the feudal ideology. The monk is depicted as a heartless and ruthless man who breaks a family and a marriage although he reverently chants compassionate Buddhist sutra.

The popular modern tragedy also cuts off a happy closure. In some earlier versions of the white snake tale， the son of the white snake becomes a Zhuangyuan from an imperial examination. With the decent publicity made possible by the privileges he enjoys as a national scholar， the son visits the pagoda in memory of his mother in an effort to rehabilitate her name. Moved by his piety， the gods release the white snake lady from under the pagoda and give her a status as a Buddhist immortal. Believing that this happy finale undermines the force of tragedy， some modern writers have eliminated the superfluous ending and let the simplified romance stand as tragedy.

(Translated by David)