Abbot Fahai and his assistant Neng Ren meet an ice harpy at the top of a mountain. The harpy turns the impetuous Neng Ren into an ice statue. Unrepentant, Fahai is forced to capture her with a demon trapper, which releases Neng Ren from the transformation. Neng Ren is then tasked to confine the ice harpy at Lei Feng Pagoda, confining it in a magic circle along with other trapped demons.
On the other side of the mountain, two female snake demons (Qingqing and Susu) are playing around when they spot a physician, Xu Xian, picking herbs at the foot of the mountain with his friends. Qingqing, being a playful snake, scares him, causing him to fall into the lake below. Susu, being gentler, assumes human form and kisses Xu Xian, which allows Vital Essence to flow from her into his body, thus saving him. When Xu Xian wakes up, he tells his friends about the kiss, which only makes them laugh.
After finding a victim of a bat demon, Fahai and Neng Ren leave the temple to subdue the bat demon. Xu Xian comes across them and offers a boat ride to the city. Susu starts thinking about the day she kissed Xu Xian and decides to head to the city to find him. Meanwhile, while Qingqing is exploring the city, she comes across Neng Ren and decides to help him subdue the bat demon by revealing its location. Neng Ren defeats the bat demon's cohorts, but is unable to subdue the bat demon king and is bitten. Though he is subsequently saved by Fahai, Neng Ren starts turning into a bat demon himself the next day and decides to run away. Meanwhile, Xu Xian recognizes Susu, and they spend the night together, oblivious to the fact that she is a snake in human form.
Neng Ren is found by Qingqing and the two befriend each other. They realize that Neng Ren, despite becoming a bat demon, still has all his human taste for human food, and most of his human qualities. Meanwhile, Xu Xian and Susu wed. Fahai gives Xu Xian a dagger that can kill demons, anticipating that Susu is a demon since she is able to counter the poison of the fox demon and confronts and defeats her but spares her as she had helped save others with a warning to leave Xu Xian as their union will only cause pain and threatens to kill her otherwise. When she doesn't, Fahai and his disciples attack her and Xu Xian's cottage. Susu fights the battle in snake form, but is stabbed by Xu Xian, who is unaware of her true identity. Susu escapes but is gravely injured. Xu Xian, after realizing what he has done, decides to get the spirit root to heal her.
Helped by Susu's friend, a mouse, Xu Xian manages to retrieve a root kept inside the Lei Feng Pagoda, but is possessed by demons since the root was the thing that kept the demons in place. Fahai and the other monks capture Xu Xian and prepare to cast spells to banish the demons from his body. When Susu recovers, she goes to find Xu Xian along with Qingqing. They are confronted by Fahai, who tries to explain to them that the spell should not be broken before it is complete. Susu, however, does not believe him and accuses him of trying to separate them. The two sisters battle Fahai and after Fahai breaks their swords, they retaliate by unleashing a tidal wave on Jinshan that Fahai is able to cut in two to prevent too much damage, only to be attacked by their true forms. Susu releases Xu Xian from the spell, but he does not have any memory of Susu. Susu blames this on Fahai and they battle. Despite managing to repel Susu's fierce snakes and incapacitate Qingqing, Fahai is left defeated as he questions whether he was too driven on his demon-hunting and fierce defense of Buddha as despite all his efforts, disasters would continue on without stopping. When Susu recommences the battle, Fahai is empowered by his faith in Buddha and manifesting many divine arms around him, easily deflects all of Susu's attacks before he is able to trap Susu in Lei Feng Pagoda. At this point, Susu repents and asks to see Xu Xian just one last time. Buddha implores Fahai to fulfill Susu's wish and Fahai, filled with the divine spirit, obeys and lifts the pagoda, temporarily freeing Susu. After an emotional talk with Xu Xian, Susu kisses him, causing him to remember everything. Susu is then sucked back into the temple as Fahai lets go of the temple, trapping Susu there again, much to Xu Xian's sadness. Qingqing, watching all this from a distance with Neng Ren, tells him that she doesn't want to love anyone as her sister loved Xu Xian, and leaves saying that he will never be a true bat demon anyway.
In the epilogue, Xu Xian picks herbs around the pagoda, while Susu has returned to her snake form trapped inside the temple. Fahai is seen walking around the mountainside, when suddenly Neng Ren (now a complete bat demon) appears alongside him. Throwing him an apple, Fahai tells him that he has grown used to his new look, and they journey together again.
Leading actors Ethan Juan, Peter Ho, Mark Chao and Raymond Lam auditioned for the lead role in the film[citation needed]. In the end, Lam got the role. Juan and Chao were reportedly dropped as they were deemed to be not well-known enough in China and Ho's image did not suit the male lead.[3]
Jet Li was announced to be part of the cast during early pre-production. However, his role was not revealed until September 2010, when some actors' roles were announced, including Jet Li as Fa Hai, Eva Huang as White Snake, Raymond Lam as Xu Xian, Charlene Choi as Green Snake and Wen Zhang, whom Li invited to play his disciple Neng Ren.[11]
Regarding the action scenes, Jet Li said he had never been this exhausted before.[11] Li said,
After fighting the White Snake, fight the Green Snake. After fighting the Green Snake, then fight the Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight another Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight the Water Monster. Everyday on set I was letting out a big sigh.[8]
Raymond Lam said he was always being hit by others,
Especially Ah Sa, she even requested for the director to add fight scenes. As a result, added scenes to hit me! Furthermore she fought much more fiercely than before![8]
Filming wrapped on January 16, 2011.[citation needed] Originally titled Madame White Snake in English, the film logo was unveiled during the production wrap press conference with the new official English title, It's Love.[12] However, the English title was changed to The Sorcerer and the White Snake when the distributor was announced.[1] The actual title used has been The Emperor and the White Snake, both on DVD and at IMDb.[13]
My Date with a Vampire is a 1998 Hong Kong television series produced by Asia Television (ATV). The story is based on the future events of the plot of Vampire Expert, a similar two-season television drama aired on ATV in 1995 and 1996. It blends aspects of the "hopping" corpses of jiangshi fiction with those of western vampires, along with elements of Chinese mythology and modern horror legends. The series is a tribute to Lam Ching-ying, the lead actor of Vampire Expert and a prominent cast member of the Mr. Vampire franchise, who died of liver cancer in 1997. It was followed by My Date with a Vampire II (2000) and My Date with a Vampire III (2004).
Madam White Snake is a wuxia TV drama series jointly produced by MediaCorp and Taiwanese producer Young Pei-pei's Workshop. It was aired in 2001.
The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being Lady Meng Jiang, Butterfly Lovers, and The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
Li Pi-Hua, also known as Lilian Lee, Lillian Lee and Lee Pik-wah, is a prolific Hong Kong novelist, screenwriter and reporter.
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New Legend of Madame White Snake is a 1992 TV series starring Angie Chiu and Cecilia Yip. It is based on the Chinese folk legend Legend of the White Snake. First shown on Taiwan Television in 1992, the series was broadcast on China Central Television in 1993 and became a major hit. It remained popular for more than 20 years, and was still one of the most replayed TV series in 2016.
Xu Xian, courtesy name Hanwen (漢文), is a main character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's four great folk tales. In some versions of the legend he is a scholar, while in others he is a physician. In earlier works such as Feng Menglong's Stories to Caution the World, he is known as Xu Xuan.
Margaret Tu Chuan was a Hong Kong actress.
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The Legend of the White Snake is a 2019 streaming television series starring Ju Jingyi and Yu Menglong. It is based on the Chinese folk legend Legend of the White Snake and a remake of 1992 Taiwanese television series New Legend of Madame White Snake. The series airs on iQiyi starting April 3, 2019.
White Snake is a 2019 animated fantasy film directed by Amp Wong and Zhao Ji, with animation production by Light Chaser Animation. The film was inspired by the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake and was released in China on January 11, 2019. A sequel, Green Snake, was announced in 2020, and was released on July 23, 2021.
Love and Redemption is a 2020 Chinese television series based on the novel Liu Li Mei Ren Sha (琉璃美人煞) by Shi Si Lang (十四郎). It premiered on Youku and Mango TV on August 6, 2020. It stars actors Cheng Yi as Yu Sifeng and Yuan Bingyan as Chu Xuanji.
Bai Suzhen, also known as Lady Bai, is a one-thousand-year-old white snake spirit and the title character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales". The legend has been adapted into several Chinese operas, films, television series and other media. In some versions of the legend, Bai Suzhen becomes a goddess; her worshippers refer to her as Madam White Snake.
Xiaoqing or Qingqing is a green or blue snake spirit and one of the protagonists of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales".
Green Snake, known in China as White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake, is a 2021 Chinese computer animation fantasy film directed by Amp Wong, with animation production by Light Chaser Animation, Alibaba Pictures, Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media and Bilibili. It is the sequel to 2019's White Snake. The film was inspired by the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake and was released in China on 23 July 2021.
Xu Shilin (許士林), known as Xu Mengjiao (许梦蛟) in some versions, is a Chinese mythological figure, son of the white snake spirit Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian. He is a major character in the Legend of the White Snake, one of four great Chinese folk tales. The story has been adapted many times, including into Chinese operas, films, television series and other media.
Fahai is a fictional Buddhist monk and a major character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales". Serving as the abbot of Zhenjiang's Jinshan Temple, Fahai possesses magic powers and he is determined to destroy the marriage between the snake Bai Suzhen and her mortal husband Xu Xian. Following a fierce battle against Bai Suzhen and her companion Xiaoqing which resulted in the flooding of Jinshan Temple, Fahai successfully entraps Bai Suzhen under the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou.
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