千年“蛇妖”化美女

《白蛇传》是中国四大民间传说之一，它讲述了在四川峨嵋修行千年的白蛇幻化成了白娘子，因“偶爱繁华去帝畿”，携青蛇小青“思凡下山”来到杭州西湖，与药店伙计许仙在“同舟”、“借伞”中相恋相识结成婚姻，后来不幸“端阳酒变”，显露蛇形吓死许仙，为救丈夫一命她与小青毅然去“嵩山盗草”，并与横加干涉其婚姻的法海和尚拼死恶斗，甚至“水漫金山”，最后不幸被法海“合钵”镇压于杭州雷峰塔下。

白蛇传故事肇于庸、五代，基本成型于南宋时期的杭州，至元朝时故事被文人编成杂剧和话本，明清以来，民间的口头文学和各类俗文艺的改编搬演相互渗透相互融合，使白蛇传最终成为涉及故事、歌谣、宝卷、小说、演义、话本、戏曲、弹词以至电影、电视、动漫、舞蹈、连环画等各种文艺形式的经典题材，它的影响之大、流传之广，不仅国内家喻户晓，并远播日本、朝鲜、越南、印度等许多国家。

《白蛇传》所以能成为具有鲜明民族性和悠久历史传统的一个家喻户晓伟大悲剧故事，所以能成为我国民族文学的精髓和光辉典范，那是因为它经过了我国无数劳动者、文字工作者历经千年的口头创作和文字加工增删的结果：

经过千年演绎，《白蛇传》主人公从吃人“蛇妖”蜕变为具有善良人性的美丽女子。中华民族远古时代就有“美女蛇”的传说故事，华夏最早的美女蛇可能要算女娲了，她“人面蛇身，一日中七十变”，与女娲曾为兄妹或丈妇的伏羲，自然也是“男性蛇”，其他如共工、黄帝、尧、禹，皆为“龙蛇所变”，在这之后，我们的祖先便把蛇作为我们华夏民族的图腾崇拜物，因而我国古时便出现了众多的有关蛇的故事和传说，所以中华民族早在形成过程中便有了产生《白蛇传》的民俗基础。到了唐代，笔记小说《白蛇记》中，就讲了两个大肆渲染白蛇化作美女勾引男子的可怕故事：一个故事说，唐宪宗元年陇西李黄在长安市东遇见一个穿白色孝服的美丽少妇，为其勾引，在她家“一住三日，饮乐无所不至”，第四日回家，就觉得“身重头旋”，卧床不起，被底下的身子逐渐消蚀，只剩一股血水。后来家里人去寻那白衣美女的家，只有一座空园和一棵皂荚树。听邻居说此树常有大白蛇蟠绕，家人才知少妇为“蛇妖”所变；另一个故事说，唐元和中，凤翔节度使李听的侄子李，在安化门外遇见一辆豪华的马车，随在车旁的是两个穿白衣、 乘白马的漂亮女婢。李为其吸引，就尾随车子直奔奉诚园。后来一个婢女把他招进园内，与一个十六七岁穿白衣的姑娘同宿园中。第二天早晨回家觉得头痛难受，不多时就“脑裂而卒”。家里人找到奉诚园，园内空荡萧条，“但见枯槐中有大蛇蟠屈”，才知李死于“蛇妖”之害。

宋元时期的话本《西湖三塔记》和尔后洪迈在《夷坚志》中写的故事，还是“蛇妖害人”：前者说杭州有三个女妖用各种幻化手段迷惑男人，害死许多人命，后被人擒获，镇压在石塔下面，其中的“白衣娘子”就是一条白蛇变化的“女妖”；后者说丹阳县有个姓孙的娶了个妻子颇有姿色，着素衣衫，但每次洗澡时却用重帷蔽降，不让婢女伺候。有一次孙某微醉，伺妻子入浴，钻缝窥视，正见大蛇蟠于盆内，其状恐怖异常，此一惊吓使孙某如负芒刺，“怏怏成疾，未逾岁而亡。”这些故事虽然与民间口头流传的白蛇故事有许多不同，但总脱不了“蛇妖”化成美女害人一说。

到了明代，通俗文学家冯梦龙对市井流传的白蛇传说和采纳各种话本进行加工，定名为《白娘子永镇雷峰塔》，这是我们今天能看到的最早、最完整的《白蛇传》写定本。由于时代的前进，写定本中不仅增添了南宋以后的大量生活情景，而且以往那种精魅害人之类的观念被基本抛弃，将白娘子的形象从“蛇妖” 蜕化为“蛇仙”，并使之成为一个具有善良人性的美丽女子，加之后来清乾隆年间黄图泌整理的昆曲本《雷峰塔传奇》，更把白素贞的形象升华为“追求自由”，“敢爱敢恨”、“对爱情坚贞不二”，并具备了“妇女们普遍具有的追求自由幸福的善良愿望和坚强性格”的美丽女子。

她在婚姻上有自己的择偶标准。“舟遇”中她有这样一段表白：“花柳缤纷，笙歌缭绕，不免春心荡漾， 情思迷离。无奈这些游人，大半凡夫俗子，岂解调琴鼓瑟?今有临安许仙，前往保荐灵，貌既不凡，情亦可眷，并非偶遇。不免带同青儿前去，候于中途，随机取事。”这段表白可以看出，白氏素贞早已不是“吸人精髓”的妖孽，而是一位充满理想情趣的女性，她择偶爱人品，重气质，即使许仙家贫她亦一见钟情；她与许仙婚后一往情深，柔情蜜意，充分表现了华夏女性普遍具有的温柔和对爱的执著。她见许仙贫困，竟不计后果使出“灵蛇”性子去盗官银，致使许仙蒙受牢狱之灾。对于这种暂时离散，她竟茶饭不思，无法面对：“不禁的路迷梦里，月落梁间，这寂寞何曾惧也?垂成转艰难，何以解烦愁?还上望夫山，但愿珠重合、镜重圆、曲重弹、妾重欢、郎重盼!……”

她“端阳”现形本可避免，但她眷恋丈夫，尊敬丈夫，因而“本当不饮归罗帐，犹恐把夫妻情意伤”，

拒绝了小青的劝告，端阳之时独自留下陪伴丈夫，明知饮雄黄有现形和失去丈夫的危险，但出于感情支配，强制自己遵从丈夫愿望，喝下了雄黄酒。当许仙顿时吓死之后，她没有撇开丈夫另寻新欢，竟拼其一死盗仙草挽救丈丈性命，这是一种高度人性和传统美德的体现。

经过千年演绎，《白蛇传》在情节上去陈腐、削累赘、去枝蔓，从“乐莫乐兮新相知”到“悲莫悲兮生别离”，成了一出大起大落、震撼人心的悲剧。

许仙的身世历经变更成了店倌。故事流传中许仙有着多种多样的身世，开始他是樵夫的后代、郎中的后代，后来演化为“换糖佬”儿子、豪门的“读书小官人”，最后变成处于当时社会底层的药店倌。药店倌这个身份就使得白娘子爱许仙有了同《田螺姑娘》《天仙配》《画中人》爱穷苦庄稼人有了基本相同理由，这种爱、更符合感动人民的良好愿望和艺术趣味；

白素贞的敌人从六个开始后来集中、固定于法海神师一个。故事流传初期白娘子先后遇上了六个敌人：

一是临安府(杭州)人尹及其下属官吏为追盗官银者要抓白娘子和许仙坐牢；二是送灵符给许仙令其“镇压白蛇”的终南山道士；三是因典当库失窃而怀疑许仙的苏州府尹及其下属官吏；四是垂涎于白娘子美色、心存不轨的镇江李克用员外；五是有祖上七八代皆能唤蛇捉蛇而今仍以此为业者的“戴先生”；六是手持钵盂、法术无边的法海和尚。故事流传到后来，六个敌人只剩法海和尚，这是因为法海毕竟是这六个中最凶恶最强大的一个，其他的敌人后来都成了“枝蔓”，故尔后，白素贞与法海和尚的斗争就显得更集中、更激烈也更加体现出这出悲剧的社会意义；

去掉“妖氛”，不再“出蛇”。由于白娘子是“峨嵋白蛇修仙而成”，所以故事开始流传时不时会“出蛇”以增加恐怖气氛，到了冯梦龙的《白娘子永镇雷峰塔》中，还让白素贞两次化蛇：“一条吊桶来粗大白蛇，两眼一似灯盏”，“张开血盆大口广露出雪白的大牙”，它杀气腾腾地警告许仙：“小乙倌!我如今实对你说，若听我言喜喜欢欢，万事皆休，若生外心，教你立即化脓化血!……”到了乾隆初年黄图泌昆曲本《雷锋塔传奇》中，在《法剿》《捉蛇》里也有“白蟒”登场，并用烟火来渲染“妖气”。这无疑损害了主人公形象，给人们造成理解上、情感上的混乱，这些败笔，尔后经过无数人的口头创作，终于烟消灰灭，不再流传；

“摒弃”昌洞宾卖汤圆传说。民间流传“白娘子前世吃了吕洞宾卖的汤圆，增加五百年功力”，并又“得到南极仙翁暗助”，但法海和尚也渴望吞服吕洞宾汤圆，可惜抢不过白素贞，由此他“为报一箭之仇而用塔镇压白素贞”。这种“前世有冤”的说法，极大削弱了白氏素贞与法海相斗的社会意义，到了清末已不再流传。

删除《回湖》《彰报》《忏悔》情节，白娘子不再“惩罚”渔民。原先故事流传白娘子在水斗中因渔民捕鱼捉虾妨碍她与法海斗法，故“白氏素贞作起法来，将湖上捕鱼捉虾者皆变成虾兵、蟹将”，白氏戏弄了渔民，倒是法海有“善心”，为救护渔民他再与白娘子恶斗。这些情节违反常理，后经亿万劳动者加工，终将其全部摒弃。

此外，《白蛇传》不但在故事情节中一次又一次地加入了当时社会生活、宗教信仰、民间礼俗，还将故事的发生地有名有地放进了我国最秀美的人间天堂苏杭两地。杭州许多景色后来会成为全国和世界人民所知晓，引起了思古凭吊之幽情，这恐怕和《白蛇传》的传说分不开。我国四大民间故事的特色之一，就是能和祖国名胜和大自然环境相结合，如《孟姜女》与万里长城、《梁祝》与浙江上虞祝家庄。

经过千年演绎，《白蛇传》的主题意义得到极大升华，从“蛇妖缠人”、“劝人戒色”一跃而成为中华民族反封建、反迫害一曲壮美赞歌。

千年流传和前人的创作结果，白素贞的形象从开始的“仇恩说”、“前世姻缘说”、“妖邪说”转化为反抗封建礼教，追求婚姻自由的美丽善良女性。白娘子所以下凡，开始说她原是凡间一条蛇，她被捕蛇者捕获后被许仙所救，故她下得凡间与许仙成亲、报恩；也有一说是释迦如来说她与凡尘许仙自有一段劫数，故让她降落凡间，这些情节当然使白素贞的反抗形象蒙上一层因果轮回的迷信色彩，后经岁月洗涤，白娘子的反封建形象终于脱颖而出；

许仙形象从一个助纣为虐者变成个虽有动摇但不负妻子的男人，成为与白素贞一样的受法海迫害者。清乾隆末年方成培整理的昆曲本《雷峰塔传奇》中，作为白素贞丈夫的许讪，还是个冷酷无情的负心贼：他宣称“恼恨当初结此缘”，决心“除去那妖魔免缠绕，夙世孽缘一笔扫!”他甘愿充当法海走卒，扮演刽子手角色，居然接过法海法钵，按法海嘱咐，利用妻子信任，一边甜言蜜语迷惑妻子，一边乘妻不备骤然下手；“昨奉禅师之命，叫我今日收取妖孽!”“我此时不下手更待何时?”“妖孽，你也有今日吓!”清乾隆《残本》，终于为许仙恢复了良心：“我夜来返想前事，白氏虽系妖魔，与我恩情一载，并无害我之心，况遗下一子。我仔细想来，许仙真薄幸人也!”后来当法海唤来伽蓝捧钵上场时，许仙说：“法海!我与你无仇无怨无来往，你不该将我妻子暗计伤。……今日里我拼却一命救妻身，娘子你快快挣脱这金光。”又说：“娘子啊!纵然你是灵蛇变，许仙决不改心肠，愿与你百年相伴同到老，愿与你娘子同存亡!”许仙形象的改变，广大百姓是赞许的。

法海禅师亦从原先的“捉妖驱魔”、“沐护黎民苍生”者演化为口喊“慈悲为怀”实际上是个老奸巨猾、面目睁狞的封建卫道士。为除却白素贞，他在净慈告诉许仙：“你将此钵藏好，那符咒休遗掉!做夫妻一载，尽此今宵，休思旧日恩情，斩断无牵撇了。休认做巫山庙，早回头永除烦恼，那时任逍遥!”在当代越剧里，更把法海的卑鄙恶毒刻画得入木三分：他不但把许仙骗上山来拘在禅房，更在白娘子分娩之后“身弱力衰”之时，不顾那才满月的婴儿，用金钵镇压了白素贞，活活拆散了人家夫妻和母子，真是写尽了“慈悲为怀”的虚伪本性，难怪白娘子骂他是“手持念珠、口念弥陀的杀人属夫”!

值得称道的是，《白蛇传》在流传中最终被斩去了一大截“尾巴”，这让它的主题意义进一步得到升华，从而最终使它成为一个伟大的悲剧。原来早先流传的故事中，当故事进行到白氏素贞被法海神师的金钵罩住，被压于雷锋塔底之后，还有故事延续，那就白娘子儿子许士麟中了状元，他“蒙皇恩赐祭”，孝感天地，终于使神、佛释放了白娘子，并将她引渡皈依佛门，超升天界。这一败笔使故事真正融入了“非状元不团圆”的窠臼，好事者无疑是“画蛇添足”，削弱了悲剧力量。好在故事流传到后来，有识之士终于将其抛却，升华了这场悲剧。

鲁迅说：悲剧便是“将人生有价值的东西毁灭给人看”，悲剧是人的伟大的痛苦，“是人生中惊心动魄的事”，《白蛇传》这伟大悲剧正是诉说了白素贞与许仙的缠绵之爱，被封建卫道士法海活生生地毁于一旦。这个经千百万人创作的动人故事跻身于我国古代最优秀的文学遗产之列，它是当之无愧的。

From A Monster Snake to a Beauty

By Lang Yiqian

“The Tale of Madam White Snake? one of the four major Chinese folk legends, is about a white snake that successfully turns itself into a beautiful woman with a magic power after cultivating vital energy for 1,000 years at the foot of Mount Emei in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province.

The tale about a white snake originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and took shape initially in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), it was adapted for various local operas and story-telling performances. From the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) onward, the tale about a snake-turned woman saving her husband from death and their marriage from a ghost-busting monk appealed so much to the imagination of people that it made its way into various arts such as literary sketches, paintings, short stories, legends, ballads, folk operas, and story-telling. In modern times, the tale has been adapted to feature films, teleplays, animation films, dancing and cartoon strips, etc. Moreover, the popular tale has spread to our neighboring countries such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam and India.

The way the tale turned from a scary monster story into a tragic romance and a classic masterpiece represents joint efforts and enthusiasm of numerous writers and artists over centuries.

Modern critics have summarized three major changes in the story over centuries to explain its growing popularity.

Firstly, the millennium evolution of the tale has turned a man-eating serpent into a beautiful woman with human virtue.

Legends about snakes abounded even in the earliest days of the Chinese civilization. In one primitive tale, a snake with a beautiful female face changes itself seventy times a day. It is believed that these ancient legends form the very basis of the tale of madam white snake. A Tang-Dynasty scholar penned a literary sketch about two white snakes that turned themselves into girls and seduced a man before killing him. Another literary sketch of the Tang period also relates a story about the son of a high-ranking official. The young man followed a mysterious and elegant carriage accompanied by two servant girls in white. The servant girls later introduced the curious follower to their lady, a young woman in white. The young man spent the night with her in a garden and died next morning back home. His family searched the garden and found the culprit, a huge serpent, inside a tree hole.

Images of the white snake in stories in the Song and Yuan dynasties were still evil. But in these stories, we can see how the monster scares the husband to death after taking a cup of herbal wine and how the snake is finally banished into a vault under a pagoda. These plots were to appear in the famous story of madam white snake.

It was in the Ming period (1368-1644) that Feng Menglong (1574-1646), a popular short story writer who collected and anthologized many folk stories, produced a full-length legend of madam white snake based on various snake stories. This is the earliest complete tale available today. In Feng’s account, the everyday life in the Southern Song Dynasty is vividly depicted; instead of being a man-eating devil, the white snake becomes a kind-hearted woman that pursues love and happiness. The Kunqu Opera scenario of “The Legend of Thunder Peak Pagoda? edited by Huang Tubi during the years of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), portrays the white snake as a courageous woman who dares to love and hate. Secondly, the plots of the tale are simplified.

Xu Xian, the husband of the white snake, assumes different identities in earlier versions, in which he varies from a son of a woodcutter, of a doctor, of a candy vendor, to a young scholar from a wealthy family. But in the end, he is an assistant in an herbal pharmacy shop, that is, just nobody.

The number of the white snake’s arch enemies dwindles from six to one. In earlier versions, the enemies include a magistrate in Hangzhou who accuses the woman and her husband of robbing the government’s treasury vault, a Taoist monk who gives a charm to Xu Xian to use against his snake wife, another government official in Suzhou who also suspects the white snake is involved in a government treasury robbery, a landlord who covets Xu Xian’s beautiful wife, a snake catcher whose family has been in the business of catching snakes for more than seven generations, and finally the Monk Fahai with a complete range of magic power at his disposal. In the end, however, the monk is the only archrival left to break up the snake’s happy marriage.

The snake image no longer appears in the story. In earlier versions, the wife occasionally turns back into a snake, baring the fangs and flaunting the blood-dripping mouth and the lantern-like eyes. But these bone-chilling elements are sanitized in later versions.

Thirdly, the theme of the tale has sublimated.

It is no longer a morality tale against abandoning oneself to wanton libido. Nor is it about revenge and a debt of gratitude, or about a predestined marriage, or about a monster.

Instead, it is now a drama of fighting against feudal taboos and persecution. In the modern tragedy, the snake lady is a virtuous woman in pursuit of worldly happiness. The husband is no longer a man who helps the monk to exorcize his monster wife. Instead, the husband wars against himself after learning the truth of his wife’s identity but finally makes up his mind to protect the marriage. He is a man victimized by the monk.

In earlier versions, the monk is an honorable monster buster. But in later versions, he becomes a crafty scoundrel who does everything in his power to maintain the feudal ideology. The monk is depicted as a heartless and ruthless man who breaks a family and a marriage although he reverently chants compassionate Buddhist sutra.

The popular modern tragedy also cuts off a happy closure. In some earlier versions of the white snake tale, the son of the white snake becomes a Zhuangyuan from an imperial examination. With the decent publicity made possible by the privileges he enjoys as a national scholar, the son visits the pagoda in memory of his mother in an effort to rehabilitate her name. Moved by his piety, the gods release the white snake lady from under the pagoda and give her a status as a Buddhist immortal. Believing that this happy finale undermines the force of tragedy, some modern writers have eliminated the superfluous ending and let the simplified romance stand as tragedy.

(Translated by David)

推荐访问:千年 美女 蛇妖

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