Scrub to 3:50 to skip the intro. My amateur translation; original video from operabeijing.com. I feel obligated to say that, as usual, there's a lot that doesn't carry over into English. Feel free to leave translation corrections/suggestions in the comments. 'The Tale of the White Snake' (白蛇传) is one of China's oldest and most famous legends; you can find more info about it online if you're interested (see: Wikipedia, www.aaronshep.com/extras/WhiteSnake_note.html). This video is of Han Tian's (1898-1968) jingju adaptation of the tale. The play has been slightly abridged in this production, probably because the original is very long, most Chinese audiences already know this story very well, and because of artistic license. If you're unfamiliar with this tale and notice anything abrupt or unexplained, it may be because some detail has been left out. The full script can be found at: scripts.xikao.com/play/06000050 An important theme in this play is the Buddhist-influenced idea of "yuanfen" (缘分), which refers to the forces of destiny that bring people together. If you have a loved one, friend, or enemy, how did it come to be that you two met, that you happened to be in the same place at the same time, that your trajectories -- subject to life, death, immigration, public transport schedules, school district boundaries, your parents' life and work choices, etc. -- happened to intersect? Perhaps it has something to do with yuanfen. Random notes -The "Bai" in Bai Suzhen means "White." The "Qing" in Xiao Qing refers to a bluish color; in some translations, the sisters are called "White Snake" and "Blue Snake". - Many of the places in this story, like West Lake (西湖) and Broken Bridge (断桥), really exist. No one really knows why it's called Broken Bridge. -"Ten lifetimes might pass...": a famous proverb. "Lifetimes" as in rebirths. -Mount Emei: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Emei -Pan An: Another name for the Luoyang poet Pan Yue (潘岳, 247-300), one of the "Four Great Beautiful Men" of ancient China. It's said he was so handsome that women would throw fruit into his carriage whenever he went out. -"to sweep a tomb": A ritual undertaken during the Qingming Festival in early April. -Lady West: Xizi (西子), one of the "Four Great Beautiful Women." It was the poet Su Shi (1037-1101) who originally compared West Lake to Xizi. -"Gaze through autumn waters": an idiom; i.e. to expectantly wait for someone with tears in your eyes. -Qing and Bai are sisters, but Qing also behaves and speaks like a servant. I'm not sure I totally understand their relationship. -"As the poem goes": from the poem "琵琶行" by Bai Juyi (772--846) -Double lotus blossoms: Two lotuses on a single stalk were seen as a metaphor for a devoted couple. -Mandarin ducks: Birds thought to mate for life. "Having nothing to envy of the immortals" can mean not fearing death because you have found happiness, and comes from Lu Zhaolin's (637-689) poem "川长安古意" -Lady Huatuo: Huatuo was a pseudo-legendary physician, thought to have invented anesthesia. -Duanyang, xionghuang: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu -"With pujian and jiaoshu...": Pujian are sword-shaped bunches of herbs, jiaoshu, triangular bundles of rice; both appear during Duanwu. -Elixir of Nine Turns: Alchemical term. According to Anthony Yu, "'turn'... refers to the process of cyclical chemical or physical manipulations of the elixir ingredients; hence the greater the number of turns, the more powerful the elixir." An elixir of nine turns would grant immortality in three days. -"Red gauze curtains": Not sure why they didn't use red curtains in this production... -Mountain of the Immortals: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Penglai -Tongxin grass, xiangsi sapling: I think tongxin is some kind of clover, while xiangsi is an acacia. "Tongxin" literally means "same heart" while "xiangsi" refers to lovesickness. -Dujuan bird: associated with sadness and regret in a legend. In English, a cuckoo. -Lingzhi: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom -"Three spirits...": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_and_po -"This disciple": a way of addressing oneself before a monk; Xu Xian is not actually a disciple at first. -"Leaving the home": One who had become a Buddhist monk was said to have "Left the home/family" -Bodhi: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi -Dharma power: supernatural, Buddhist-derived power -Wind and Fire Prayer Mat: A supernatural weapon mentioned in the 16c. novel '封神演义'. It does not appear in the original 'White Snake" script and I have no idea what kind of weapon it is. The two painted-face characters that appear after Fahai invokes this mat are listed as "Fire General" and "Wind God". -Avidya: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avidy%C4%81_%28Buddhism%29 -I'm not certain why Bai and Qing sing the duet that they do; it's clearly sung from Bai's perspective alone. -King Yama: A Buddhist entity who judges the dead.

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