If you want to learn Chinese better, you will also want to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture!

I think stories are the best way to introduce traditional Chinese culture, so I want to tell you a story called “the legend of lady white”. There are many versions about the legend of lady white and a handsome young man named Xuxian. Two spirits named Lady White and Xiaoqing came down to earth seek a little boy who had saved the life of Lady White when she was small and stayed in her heart ever since. It turned out that Xuxian was the very man they had been looking for. Lady White and Xuxian fell in love with each other and later with the help of Xiaoqing they got married.

However…at the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, it was the custom of every household to fasten plants such as calamus and Chinese mugwort on the ground to drive away spirits. On that day, Lady White took a sip of a drink prepared by Xuxian which caused her lose her superior magic skills and become a large white snake. Xuxian was greatly shocked when he saw a large snake on the bed ,he fell to the floor and died. The power of the drink faded away, and Lady White resumed her human form. She was heartbroken to find Xuxian lying dead, and to restore him to life, Lady White flew to the Kunlun mountain to steal a celestial herb, which took great courage; but the herb brought Xuxian back to life, and the lovers were reunited.