Lady White Snake: A Tale From Chinese Opera [Hardcover]

Aaron Shepard (Author), Song Nan Zhang (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

What fate awaits a thousand-year-old white snake that travels from its sacred mountain home to the human world, only to fall in love with a mortal? Such is the bizarre beginning of this tragic love story, one of the most popular in all of Chinese opera. Lady White's marriage and loyal devotion to her beloved husband Xu Xian is considered by Fahai--the abbott of a nearby temple--as heresy and an abomination. Fahai attempts to make Xu Xian aware of the apparent danger he faces from his own wife. And in a spectacular battle, the devout monk musters all his powers to get rid of Lady White Snake once and for all. Although our heroine prevails in the end, time is not on her side and there is great loss.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 2-5--Shepard and Zhang present a tale from Chinese traditional literature in the form most Chinese would know it-as an opera performance. Shepard's text, written in vivid, engaging prose, tells the tragic tale of an immortal white snake that is transformed into a lovely woman in search of love. With her companion blue snake, she visits the beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou and meets a handsome, caring young man, an orphan without prospects. They marry and live happily until a zealous monk interferes. Then Lady White must call on a host of immortals to help her fight for her own life as well as her husband's. Lady White and Blue prove to be formidable women warriors. Zhang's illustrations, depicting characters dressed in opera costumes and makeup, yet acting against naturalistic settings, recall the many opera movies made in Chinese film studios. Zhang's color work and skill in composition perfectly complement the dramatic, action-packed text. Versions of "The White Snake" appear in Yin-lien Chin's Traditional Chinese Folktales (M. E. Sharpe, 1989) or Tao Tao Liu Sanders's Dragons, Gods & Spirits from Chinese Mythology (Schocken, 1983; o.p.). Shepard identifies specific translations of one particular libretto as the source for his retelling. This picture-book version of a famous Chinese story cast in a unique Chinese art form offers American children an authentic encounter with this rich and ancient culture.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Reviewed with Debby Chen's Monkey King Wreaks Havoc in Heaven.

Gr. 4-6. Beautifully rendered art illustrates these picture-book-size retellings of well-known Chinese stories, which are available in English as well as several in bilingual versions: English/Spanish, English/Chinese, and English/Vietnamese. The Monkey King, like Coyote or Anansi, is crafty, sly, and full of self-importance. In this tale, the second in a series, he takes a powerful wand from the Dragon King and challenges Heaven and the Jade Emperor. Translucent layers of shimmering color and figures echoing traditional Chinese painting fill the pages. Shepard retells a popular story in Chinese opera, the tale of Lady White Snake, a serpent that becomes a human woman for love, only to be betrayed by her spouse. Richly patterned images that call up Chinese and Japanese sources, as well as impressionism, bring this version to life for older readers. Children who eagerly watched the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will recognize the fierce grace in Lady White Snake's swordplay, a grace evident even while she's pregnant. Notes at the back talk about Chinese opera stories, costumes, and actors, as well as the geography and cultural content of the tale. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Pan Asian Publications (USA) (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572270721
• ISBN-13: 978-1572270725
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Asian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful retelling of an exotic story, July 13, 2008

By 

duskstarjds - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady White Snake: A Tale From Chinese Opera (Hardcover)

Lady White and her friend Blue (who are both snakes), decide to leave their residence at Mt. Emei and experience the human world. A young man, Xu Xian, offers the two women the use of his umbrella when it begins to rain, and plans to pick it up from them the following day. After spending the day drinking tea with the two women, Xu Xian and Lady White agree to marry. Unfortunately, the two do not live happily ever after--because of the meddling of a monk who considers Lady White a demon and tries to convince Xu Xian of that fact. After a series of confrontations between the monk and Lady White, the story follows operatic tradition as the monk finally succeeds in ripping the two lovers apart. He captures Lady White and imprisons her under a pagoda by West Lake, where she will remain until either the lake dries up or the pagoda falls. However, the story does conclude on a hopeful note. As the centuries pass, Lady White's friend Blue trains until she and her army are able to destroy the pagoda and free Lady White from her prison, giving her freedom and perhaps one day another chance at love.

The author has included some pages of extra information that is helpful to those of us who are not familiar with aspects of Chinese opera that appear in this story. The beginning also has a pronunciation guide on names non-Chinese speakers may have problems with. There is also a brief description about the style of Chinese calligraphy the artist chose to incorporate into the illustrations. The illustrations are quite impressive, especially the two page spread showing the battle between the armies of the monastery and Lady White. The illustrator makes it seem as though they are images from a production of the opera, which enhances the story.

This is a great, well-written book, telling a story that most readers will not be familiar with. All the readers though will appreciate the action of the story and the lovely pictures that accompany the text. There is love and excitement, and while there is not a `happily ever after' ending between Lady White and Xu Xian, there are hints that love might come again for Lady White. However, one thing to be aware of is that this book will probably work better as a read aloud book than one kids read themselves, because of the long plot and unfamiliar words.

This story will probably especially appeal to girls, in both the exotic costumes and the characters who are passionate and adventurous. While Lady White does marry and have a child, unlike the "traditional" female role, she is not someone who will passively stand by and watch things happen without doing something. Her friend Blue has a similar personality, even struggling over the centuries to become strong enough to free Lady White.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chinese Tales, July 9, 2010

By 

Ginny Mapes "Pacific Northwest writer & educator" (Hillsboro, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lady White Snake: A Tale From Chinese Opera (Hardcover)

Lady White Snake: A Tale From Chinese Opera is a traditional tale illustrated with lovely Chinese drawings. Chinese characters show the symbols from long ago compared with modern. Chinese names have a pronunciation guide to assist the storyteller.