Bai Suzhen

Lore & Background

After one thousand years of disciplined training in Taoism on Mount Emei, Bai Suzhen is transformed into a woman by the essence of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. Despite her inhuman origin, she is kindhearted and refuses to abuse her powers for evil, deciding to go into the human realm to do good deeds and earn her immortality. She is later accepted as a disciple by the goddess Lishan Laomu. While traveling, she rescues a green snake from a beggar, and that snake becomes her sworn sister, Xiaoqing or Qingmei.

On a visit to West Lake, Bai Suzhen falls in love with a young man named Xu Xian and becomes his wife. In an alternative version, she takes human form to search for Xu Xian, who had saved her life in a past life, and she wants to repay him. The Buddhist monk Abbot Fahai discovers her true origin and tells Xu Xian, who is not convinced. After Fahai's advice, Xu Xian convinces Bai Suzhen to drink realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival, causing her to reveal her true snake form. Xu Xian dies of shock, and Bai Suzhen steals the immortal herb Lingzhi from Heaven to revive him. She and Xiaoqing later fight Fahai, flooding the temple with water and hurting other creatures. Fahai defeats Bai Suzhen and imprisons her in Leifeng Pagoda, where she gives birth to a son, Xu Shilin. Her son later becomes a successful scholar, rescues her, and she ascends to Heaven. In one version, she becomes the mount of the goddess Yaotai Laomu.

Reader's Guide

Bai Suzhen's significance lies in her evolution from a malevolent seductress in Tang and Song depictions to a morally good, caring figure in Ming and Qing versions, transforming her story into a tale of love. She is worshipped as a deity in Chinese folk religion, known as Madam White Snake, and is said to have practiced Chinese medicine with Xu Xian, attracting believers seeking healing. The White Snake Temple in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, dedicated to her in 1991, holds an annual Dragon Boat Festival celebration for her birthday. The White Snake Cave in Jizhou, Tianjin, China, contains statues of Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing as deities. Her legacy extends to science: a species of krait discovered in 2021 was named Suzhen's krait in honor of her courage and kindness, and a genus of mushrooms (Baisuzhenia) and a species (Ganoderma baisuzhenii) were named after her in 2025, the latter referencing the Lingzhi mushroom she sought to save her husband.

Did You Know?

• Bai Suzhen is one thousand years old and transforms into a woman after training in Taoism on Mount Emei.
• In earlier Tang and Song versions, she was depicted as a malevolent seductress, but Ming and Qing versions made her morally good.
• She is worshipped as a deity in Chinese folk religion, and the White Snake Temple in Taiwan was built in 1991 in her honor.
• A species of krait discovered in 2021 was named Suzhen's krait after her.