Madam White Snake (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Madam White Snake is a gongfu TV
drama series jointly produced by MediaCorp
(Media Corporation of Singapore
) and Taiwan
ese producer
Yang Peipei's Workshop.
Starring a pan-Asia
n cast including celebrity couple Fann Wong
and Christopher Lee
, as well as Taiwanese actors
Zhang Yuyan and Vincent Jiao En Jun, this swordfighting serial deftly explored in comic and tragic ways the politics of revenge through a well-executed and performed script. The serial was filmed in Hengdian City
, Zhejiang
Province of China
, which formed a beautiful backdrop for this serial.
The television serial
was based on a legendary folk tale
(Madame White Snake
), involving a snake spirit and her male human lover, but was adapted in this version to include the presence of a black snake who is the snake spirit's mentor and the White Snake Spirit being trapped under the pagoda
for 20 years, when in the original tale she was trapped under the tower for centuries.
As for the green snake, the white snake imprisons her for a short time(A few hours) before releasing her, unlike the original where she imprisoned her for three centuries. Xu Xian is also initially a good-for-nothing who, under the white snake's guidance, becomes an official.
The serial attained high viewership ratings in Taiwan
and China.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama series jointly produced by MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
(Media Corporation of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Yang Peipei's Workshop.
Starring a pan-Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n cast including celebrity couple Fann Wong
Fann Wong
Fann Woon Fong , better known by her stage name Fann Wong, is a Singaporean actress, singer and model.At Singapore's Star Awards 1995, Fann became the first actress to win both the Best Actress and Best Newcomer awards in the same year...
and Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee (Singaporean actor)
Christopher Lee , born Lee Meng Soon, is a Singapore-based Malaysian Chinese film and television actor, host and singer.-Early life:Lee studied up to form 5 in Sekolah Menangah Seri Kota, Air Leleh, Malacca, Malaysia...
, as well as Taiwanese actors
Cinema of Taiwan
The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of Mainland China and Cinema of Taiwan . Taiwanese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China.Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted...
Zhang Yuyan and Vincent Jiao En Jun, this swordfighting serial deftly explored in comic and tragic ways the politics of revenge through a well-executed and performed script. The serial was filmed in Hengdian City
Hengdian World Studios
Hengdian World Studios is the largest film studio in the world. It is located in Hengdian, a town in the city of Dongyang in Zhejiang Province. The movie studio is operated by the privately-owned Hengdian Group founded by a farmer turned millionaire Xu Wenrong. Sometimes called "Chinawood", Xu...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, which formed a beautiful backdrop for this serial.
The television serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
was based on a legendary folk tale
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
(Madame White Snake
Madame White Snake
The Legend of the White Snake, also known as Madame White Snake, is a Chinese legend, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation...
), involving a snake spirit and her male human lover, but was adapted in this version to include the presence of a black snake who is the snake spirit's mentor and the White Snake Spirit being trapped under the pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
for 20 years, when in the original tale she was trapped under the tower for centuries.
As for the green snake, the white snake imprisons her for a short time(A few hours) before releasing her, unlike the original where she imprisoned her for three centuries. Xu Xian is also initially a good-for-nothing who, under the white snake's guidance, becomes an official.
The serial attained high viewership ratings in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and China.
Cast
- Fann WongFann WongFann Woon Fong , better known by her stage name Fann Wong, is a Singaporean actress, singer and model.At Singapore's Star Awards 1995, Fann became the first actress to win both the Best Actress and Best Newcomer awards in the same year...
- Madam White Snake, White Snake spirit, Bai Suzhen, Qin Xiaoxiao, Xi Shi - Christopher LeeChristopher Lee (Singaporean actor)Christopher Lee , born Lee Meng Soon, is a Singapore-based Malaysian Chinese film and television actor, host and singer.-Early life:Lee studied up to form 5 in Sekolah Menangah Seri Kota, Air Leleh, Malacca, Malaysia...
- Xu Xian, Xu Shilin, Lord Wu - Zhang Yuyan - Green Snake
- Jiao Enjun - Shi/Miao Junbao, Fahai