From "tool man" to "C position"
The growth road of "Xiaoqing"
Li Ziyan
The animated film "White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake" was released on July 23 and aroused widespread concern and discussion.
It inherits the excellent production level of the previous work "White Snake: Origin", and further makes an ingenious adaptation of the ancient story of the White Snake in my country.
Of particular concern is that Xiaoqing moved from the supporting role in the story of the white snake to the "C position" on the stage, becoming the undoubtedly number one protagonist of the film.
In fact, Xiaoqing's "road to the protagonist" is very long.
Since its birth, the story of the White Snake has been reprocessed by different creators of the past dynasties and presented in multiple versions. The images of the White Snake, Xu Xian, Xiaoqing, and Fahai are constantly being reshaped.
"Tool Man" Xiaoqing's thin image
In the original story of the White Snake, Xiaoqing's image is vague.
We can only vaguely see Xiaoqing’s shadow from the characters of the old lady in Qingfu in the legendary "Natural History of Li and Huang" in the Tang legend and the old lady in Zaoyi in the "Three Pagodas of the West Lake" in the Song storybook, but they only serve as functions. The appearance of sexual characters plays a role in advancing the development of the plot.
The role of Xiaoqing was not officially confirmed until the publication of the story "White Lady in the Leifeng Tower" compiled by Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty.
In this work, her name is "Qingqing", and she has the fixed identity of White Lady's maid.
Despite this, Qingqing’s image in this work is still thin and lacks active theatrical behavior. All her actions are firmly on the stand of the white lady, which is more like a possession of the heroine, the white lady. Props.
In "White Lady Yongzhen Leifeng Pagoda", Qingqing’s history is “the herring fish that has become alive in the pool under the third bridge in the West Lake for thousands of years”. She was “acquainted by the white lady at a moment and dragged her as a companion”, and she did not explain Qingqing. The reason for being loyal to the Lord also didn't portray the relationship between blue and white in the follow-up.
Qingqing's final ending was also subdued by Fahai along with the white lady, just like the "low-matched replica" of the white lady.
This is normal. At this time, the story of the White Snake is still maturing, and the focus is on the love between the White Snake and Xu Xian.
When the images of the heroes and heroines in the story of the White Snake gradually become fuller, Xiaoqing will also usher in her own "spring".
Improved strength
"White Lady in the Leifeng Tower in Yongzheng Town" is a link between the story of the White Snake, and it has stimulated the creators' interest in the material of the story of the White Snake.
In the Qing Dynasty, another milestone in the story of the White Snake-Fang Chengpei's opera "Leifeng Pagoda" came out, and the images of each character were much more plump.
In "Leifeng Pagoda", Xiaoqing's mana is greatly improved, and he has the opportunity to show his strength.
At this time, "Xiao Qing" was named Qing'er, and she was still a herring who had practiced for thousands of years, but she already had a lot of scenes. When "Shou Qing" came out, it specifically described how the white snake took her from the monsters in the cave into her own. Maid.
In this episode, Qing'er's strength has been greatly improved compared to the previous one, and she fought with the white snake quite a bit before being subdued.
In the subsequent two episodes of "Zhan" and "Water Fight", she led the Shui clan soldiers and fought side by side with the white snake.
At the end, after Fahai joined the bowl to subdue the White Snake, Qing'er did not capture the white snake like the previous one, but boldly blamed Xu Xian, resisted Fahai, and even determined to avenge the White Snake.
Xiaoqing's declaration of revenge for her sister inspired many creators in later generations.
The increase in strength implied a sense of identity. Xiaoqing gradually walked from the dark side of the stage to the spotlight, making readers realize that she and Bai Snake had the same origin-the same demon and the same female.
In this work, they were rivals at first, but the sense of evenness brought about by their similar abilities eliminated the difference between masters and servants in the past, and laid the foundation for Xiaoqing and Bai Snake to become "sisters" later.
The quirky young girl
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the interpretation of the White Snake story has lasted for a long time, and Xiaoqing's image has become more and more enriched.
After the founding of New China, when Tian Han adapted the Peking Opera script "The Legend of the White Snake", Xiaoqing was already a character with a lot of personality and a great influence on the plot, especially the ending.
First of all, in terms of identity, Xiaoqing's status as a "servant" has been faded and faded, replaced by Bai Suzhen's sister relationship almost as a "green sister".
It is worth noting that at this time Xiaoqing's real body has changed from "herring" to "green snake"-the same "species" as Bai Suzhen, which has strengthened the sense of equality between them in the hearts of readers.
Second, in terms of Xiaoqing's character creation, although the White Snake story of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China has increased Xiaoqing's role, she still has a strong "tool sense".
It wasn't until Tian Han's "The Legend of the White Snake" that we really saw a flesh and blood Xiaoqing.
Tian Han captured the characteristics of her younger age than White Snake, and created an image of a young, lively, outspoken, and incomprehensible quirky girl, which contrasted with Bai Suzhen's gentle and virtuous "married wife" image.
Third, in terms of the influence on the plot, especially the ending, Xiaoqing's power is also greatly improved compared to the previous one.
Tian Han’s original adaptation of the White Snake story "The Story of the Golden Bowl" has not yet added the "falling tower", and in the final widely circulated "The Legend of the White Snake", it was Tian Han who deleted "Front Edge", "Stealing Library Silver", The plots of "Treasure Scarf Incident", "Taoist Presenting Talisman", "Catch the Snake", "Sacrifice to the Tower" and other plots are added to Xiaoqing's fight with the pagoda god, overthrowing Leifeng pagoda and rescuing Bai Suzhen's post-closing works.
In Peking Opera "The Legend of the White Snake", Xiaoqing is straightforward, unrestrained, and daring to love and hate. Some of her "highlight moments" even overwhelm Bai Suzhen.
Finally became the protagonist
In the contemporary era, the story of the White Snake continues to be recreated by novels, movies, and TV series.
In most of the works, Xiaoqing is still a supporting role. The green snake is pure and sassy, daring to love and hate, and inherits the image of Xiaoqing in "The Legend of the White Snake" adapted by Tian Han.
However, there are also some works that choose Green Snake as the protagonist and start the narration from her perspective, such as Li Bihua's novel "Green Snake" and the film adaptation of the same name directed by Tsui Hark.
The novel revolves around the growth of the green snake, presenting a complete arc of characters.
She changed from animal nature to human nature, and finally to Buddha nature.
At first, she didn't yearn for a "man" like her sister Suzhen, thinking that as a demon, eating and sleeping is the most enjoyable, but then step by step because of Xu Xian and her sister's intrigue and even swordsmanship, she gave up and quit and then wanted to take her sister back to West Lake. After seeing through the cowardice and hypocrisy of the heartbreaker, he kills Xu Xian and retreats, and finally saves Suzhen but falls into the reincarnation.
In this work, the awakening of the green snake and her relationship with the white snake become the core of the story, a bold adaptation of the traditional white snake story.
The novels and movies of "Green Snake" obviously have a profound influence on "White Snake: Origin" and "White Snake 2: The Green Snake".
The story of the White Snake has experienced generations of creation, constantly innovating, and radiating new vitality.
The image of Xiaoqing's character also changes continuously with the text of the story, from a thin instrumental supporting role to a brilliant protagonist.
But in fact, the character Xiaoqing has great potential for re-creation since his birth.
After all, in terms of the dual identities of "monster" and "female", only Xiaoqing can truly stand in the same camp as White Snake.