Madam White Snake - Tr & Ed by Myra Ellis - Illustr by Kwan Shan Mei (1990).pdf

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MADAM
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Translated and edited by Myra Ellis
Illustrated by Kwan Shan Mei
"' FEDERAL PUBLICATIONS
U
Singapore Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong
•
•
© 1981
Federal Publications (S) Pte Ltd
A
member of the Times Publishing Croup
Times Centre
1
New Industrial Road
Singapore
1953
First published
1981
Reprinted
1985
First published in this format
1990
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic. mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publishers.
ISBN
981 01 2035 4
Printed by South East Printing Pte Ltd
Translator's Preface
Madam White Snake
is an old Chinese legend which has circu­
lated throughout China for thousands of years. Told and retold
by innumerable travelling storytellers who earned their
livelihood by holding their listeners spellbound, the legend has
developed into many different versions. The Chinese text used
for this translation is one of the more popular versions - that
written by Zhang Hen-shui.
This tale follows the fortunes of Bai Su-zhen, a snake spirit,
who comes down with fellow snake spirit, Xiao Qing, to live
among mortals. She meets Xu Xian and soon they are happily
married, destined - it seems - for a blissful life together.
But the monk Fa Hai considers Bai Su-zhen evil and does his
best to separate the couple. Bai and Xu find themselves tossed
about in a dramatic series of adventures and supernatural
events which culminate in their tragic separation.
It is easy to empathise with the strong, resourceful characters
in the book: Xiao Qing, wilful, vindictive, yet fiercely loyal; Bai
Su-zhen, calm, affectionate and heroic. Fa Hai exasperates
with his obdurate, unyielding ways. They are counterbalanced
by the weaker characters of Xu Xian and his family, who reveal
themselves as honest, humble and hardworking, imbued with a
sense of the importance of reciprocal aid within one's own
family.
This is by no means a literal translation but one in which I
hope I have captured the spirit of the legend in language more
akin to that we use today. I deeply appreciate the help and en­
couragement given me on many occasions by Mrs Teh Kheng
Geok of the United World College of Southeast Asia, and also
wish to thank Dr Koh Tai Ann most sincerely for her editorial
assistance and pertinent comments on the text. I alone am
responsible for any omissions or errors of translation.
M.E.

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