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Introduction

The Legend of the White Serpent is a tale which, under various names and in slightly differing versions, the Chinese know as well as we know the old fairy tales so well retold by the Grimm brothers or Hans Christian Andersen. It has been made into popular Chinese operas and, more recently, into several films, the latest being the full-length color cartoon produced in Japan under the title "The White Snake Enchantress." It is a typically and wholly Chinese story, yet one that must find a home in the hearts of all who respond to the age-old and universal themes of magic, love, high adventure, and success over hardship.

Speaking as the most recent in a long line of storytellers who have retold this tale, I cannot pretend to any facility in the Chinese language. During my stay in Hongkong I was given this legend in the form of a rather oddly-worded, though literally accurate, translation. Even so, its feeling came through to me so vividly that I spent a long time on the writing of what is actually quite a short work. Neither can I claim erudite knowledge of the legend's history. It is old, perhaps even ancient; beyond that I do not know.

I have taken pains to relate the story in the plainest possible words and in a style that lends itself to reading aloud, since the tale will, I suppose, appeal to children most. Yet I have never used child-talk, partly because I think children neither need nor should be fed on it, and partly because there seems to me no reason why adult minds should not take as keen an interest in fable as in fiction. Fables, winnowed by the centuries, often have more truth and meaning. I also hope, as a by-product of this simplicity, that Chinese students will be able to enjoy here their own story in English without too much difficulty.

If readers miss that repetition of flowery phrases so often used in Chinese stories, I apologize; perhaps indeed I am mistaken. But I felt strongly that as a story this is fully good enough to stand on its own merits without literary beatings of mysterious temple gongs.

It stands as a story of heartbreak and splendor, mist and music, fantasy and true love, full of the things that tug at the heart and make you care. The legend has well deserved its long life in the East; I think we of the West will love it as much.

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The book owes a tremendous debt to Kwan Sang-mei, the very talented and sensitive Hongkong artist who painted the illustrations. It was a pleasure to work with Miss Kwan; her understanding and patience were wonderful.

And to Dr. Chang Kuo-li, my friend and benevolent backer of this volume, I must acknowledge the greatest debt of all.

A. FULLARTON PRIOR

Surfer's Paradise, Australia

October, 1959