Plot Elements and Details

Note: The following may contain spoilers

The movie contain a large amount of plot elements, historical references and details that may not be obvious to Western viewers. The following provides some of the explanations.

Prequel

The story is actually a prequel to the original lore. As such most of the story is made up by the film maker to provide their explanation of events that lead up to the real Legend of the White Snake. The final scene depicts the starting point of the original lore.

Blanca and Verta Bath Scene

The bath scene where Verta holds Blanca from behind is homage to the 1993 movie "Green Snake", a story variation where Verta was the main focus.

Giant Serpent in Historical Records

Official Chinese history ("Twenty Four History Books") records that in around 750 AD a giant serpent was discovered measuring 30 meters long near the ancient capital city Luo Yang. The Imperial Court was advised by monks that the serpent will cause flooding and thus ordered to have the snake killed. This entry in the historical records is commonly believed to be one of the sources for the original folktale.

Waterfall Shack

The waterfall shack where Sean found Blanca had a sign named Bao An Tang, an umbrella and Sean's talent at medicine all refers to plot devices in the original folktale. The audience is not told about this. They serve a purpose in the sequel.

Squirrel

Prior to the waterfall shack, Sean encountered a squirrel and offered it food. But the squirrel ran away after seeing Blanca. Demons may be able to deceive normal humans with their appearance, but other animals are still able to detect their true identity due to superior senses. The squirrel would therefore be able to detect snakes, which are their natural predators.

Realgar Wine

A brief scene was showing villagers moving large jars of realgar wine. Blanca held her breath in disgust. According to the original legend, snakes are highly allergic to realgar wine and that Blanca was forced back to her true form after drinking the said wine.

Ferryman's Song

In the scene where they took a ferry, the ferryman started humming the tunes of a song. The song came from 1992 TV drama of White Snake. The song is named Ferrying Love "渡情". In that instance, the song was a duet sung between the ferryman and Green Snake (or Verta in this series).

Buddha's Tear

In the scene where frost reached a Buddha statue and subsequently melted under the sun made it appear like tears. Instances of Buddha's tear appeared in the book "伽蓝记", which correlated these instances with events that lead to tragic losses of life. Thereafter, it is commonly believed that Buddha's tear represent bad omen. In the movie, this likely refers to the foretelling of Blanca's destruction of Yong Zhou.

Fox Girl Smelling Sean

When Sean first arrived at the Jade Workshop, the Fox Girl was sniffing Sean. In doing so, she believes that Sean and Blanca has been intimate and therefore trustworthy. Demons do not normally trust humans.

Fox Girl's Quote on Demons

The Fox Girl warned Sean that becoming a demon means being hated by gods, humans and even other demons. Although foxes have a reputation of lying and deceit in Chinese lore, this particular warning is a very honest depiction of the realities that demons often face. Demons turning against other demons is readily observed throughout the movie.

Government Orders for Catching Snakes in Historical Records

In the book "捕蛇者说" ("Records of the Snake Catcher"). It was recorded that around 755 AD, the Tang Dynasty government ordered the capturing of snakes due to its medicinal properties as claimed by the Imperial Physician. The people of Yong Zhou was ordered to deliver snakes to the Imperial Court twice per year. In the Records of the Snake Catcher, the author recounts the people were living under harsh conditions. Of the 10 neighboring families, 8 have died or fled. The author had insufficient food to survive but had to keep feeding the snakes, because if he fails to deliver the snakes to the government, the punishment may well be death. These conditions were also portrayed in the movie. The Records of the Snake Cather is currently part of the high school curriculum where Yong Zhou is located. In the movie, Yong Zhou was destroyed by Blanca in her rage.

Pagoda in the Movie

In the movie, the characters took shelter in a pagoda near the city Yong Zhou with a giant monster under the crypt. The real city of Yong Zhou has a river near by and on the eastern shore of that river is indeed a pagoda. The pagoda is named "回龙塔" ("Dragon Memorial Pagoda"). According to the pagoda's own legend, Yong Zhou was suffering from flooding. A mystic explained the flooding was due to a juvenile dragon that lives in the river and advised the construction of a pagoda near the river to tame the dragon. The juvenile dragon was indeed tamed and later worked to help the villagers control flooding of the river and protection of the people. Eventually it grew up and had to return to the open sea. The villagers bid the dragon farewell and gave the pagoda its name in remembrance of the event. Another variation of the legend was the dragon was sealed beneath the pagoda.

Writings on the Golden Rod

Inside the crypt, Blanca found the remains of a demon pierced by a golden rod. She began reading the text. The text is from "金光咒" ("Golden Light Incantation"). A commonly cited incantation used by Taoist practitioners.

Tinder and Fire

There are two scenes in which the audience is shown a woodpile on fire. The first is when Blanca was frozen and the second was when Blanca gave herself to Sean. The tinder and fire has two meanings. First, the term tinder and fire means sexual desire when used in Chinese literature. Second, all of the characters in the story agree that having intimate relations between a human and a demon is akin to playing with fire. This is especially true in the second scene where it appears they are taking a bath in flames.

Taoist Traps and Death Scene

Taoist traps are not infallible and Sean had basic understanding of their layouts. He was able to tell the direction based on the star alignment in the sky, which appears on the reflection in the ice. However, he was not able to escape as he was no longer human. Nonetheless, they sought shelter at the safest location possible, prolonging their survival.

Sean's "Death"

The death trap in the final battle disintegrates body and soul. Those disintegrated suffer permanent death with no chance of reincarnation - as opposed to normal death. Blanca saved Sean's soul using the jade hairpin, but in doing so consumes her powers and memory. Sean's soul can be seen as the shining particle that ascended to the sky after the death trap was disabled.

The General's Incantation

The general recited the incantation "太阴道积，炼形之宫, 道人行备，道神归之". This comes from a Taoist scripture "老子想尔注" written between 34 AD and 156 AD. Only portions of the scripture survives today.

500 Years

As noted above the earliest historical record loosely related to White Snake occurred around 750 AD (Tang Dynasty). 500 years later would be 1250 AD (Song Dynasty). The original folktale states the story took place during the Song Dynasty. Accordingly, the clothing style of the characters were different and accurately relate to their respective time periods.

Waterfall and Cave

The movie's opening depicts Blanca and Verta residing in a cave next to a waterfall. In the folktale, this place is located near the city Luo Yang, where a giant snake was once discovered (see above). The mountain is named White Cloud Mountain. Near the peak is a cave. A waterfall there is named Nine Dragon Falls. The water which supplies the waterfall is named White River. The mountain is dangerous due to its vertical cliffs. The depictions seen in the movie however are based on real locations in Guizhou.

Blanca's Appearance on Broken Bridge

The clothing and hair style of Blanca in the Broken Bridge scene is homage to the 1992 TV drama of White Snake.

Broken Bridge and West Lake

The final scene take place on the Broken Bridge, a real bridge in West Lake, Hangzhou. The original bridge was built during the Tang Dynasty, making the bridge about 500 years old when the main characters met there. The movie accurately depicts the shape of the bridge and the lily pads shown are also commonly found in West Lake. The water at West Lake is green, as shown in the movie.

Lei Feng Pagoda in the Background

In the final scene on the Broken Bridge, when Blanca turns around to look at Xu Xuan, a pagoda is seen in the background. This is likely Lei Feng Pagoda, where Blanca will eventually be imprisoned. The earliest surviving written copy of the lore was titled "Lady White Forever Imprisoned Under Lei Feng Pagoda".

Birds of Prey

The Little General was seen riding a three headed bird. Both his and the General's attacks showed the forms of a bird. The birds depicted are likely cranes. The snake and crane has symbolic meanings in Chinese martial arts. The crane symbolizes the sky, rigidity and the light. The snake symbolizes the earth, flexibility and darkness. The bird with three heads may be the mythical beast Qi Tu, as described in the text "山海经" ("Encyclopedia of Mountains and Seas"). The beast is said to ward off evil and its feathers protect the bearer from nightmares. However, Qi Tu was said to have a short neck and an appearance similar to a crow, as opposed to the long neck fowl depicted in the movie.

The Name Dudou

The dog's name is du dou. Du dou is an undergarment worn by children and women which extends from the breasts to the belly. Naming the dog in such a way would have been vulgar under social norms at the time. This gives away that Xu Xuan craves for sex. Thus, Verta's accusation that Xu Xuan is only after her sister's beauty is valid. The original lore also criticized Xu Xuan for letting his desire for lust control his decision making.

Intimate Scene

According to images released online, the intimate scene was first acted out by two male animators. The animators were asked to repeatedly act out the scene themselves to become familiar with the movements.