What is the most indignant thing about "The Legend of the New White Lady"?
It is the end of Fahai.
As the "first villain" in "New White", Fahai's "scolding" has not dissipated for decades - he declared a personal vendetta and suppressed Bai Suzhen under lei feng tower; he broke up the happy marriage in the world, causing irreparable family tragedy - it is such a hated character, what is the ending in the "Legend of the New White Lady" that promotes "truth, goodness and beauty"?
Together with Bai Suzhen, Xu Xian, and Xiao Qing, "the sun soared and ranked in the immortal class".
What about the good "evil man has evil retribution"?
Is there any truth to this "most unjust ending" that has been read by the audience for decades?
In other words, what role does Fahai play in "New White"?
Does he exist only to occupy the position of a "villain"?
Looking at "New White" again, I found that the character of "Fahai" is the key to truly understanding "The Legend of the New White Lady" - he is not a flat "villain", and it is not just "hateful". He was so meticulous that it was frightening and so heartless that it was frightening.
Why?
Let's go back to the source of the story —
Why did Fahai keep an eye on Bai Suzhen?
Because the two of them had two "bad relationships" that were separated by a thousand years.
In the first paragraph, when the two first met, Bai Suzhen was just an ordinary little white snake, and Fahai was a "snake catcher".
When he caught the little white snake, he was about to break his stomach and take his guts, but he was stopped by the little shepherd boy on the side. A peach and a melodious flute distracted him, and the little white snake bit the snake catcher and slipped away. The "evil relationship" between the two began.
At the same time, Bai Suzhen's "evil relationship" with the "little shepherd boy" Xu Xian also began here.
Therefore, the entanglement of Bai Suzhen, Fahai, and Xu Xian was destined to happen at the same time from the beginning.
Seven hundred years later, Bai Suzhen and Fahai, a demon and a Buddha, each had their own cultivation behavior. Bai Suzhen ran to fahai's cultivation place and swallowed in one gulp the six elixirs of relics given to fahai by the Jade Emperor.
Before she swallowed the elixir, the cultivation of the two should be indistinguishable, but because of these six immortal elixirs, Bai Suzhen immediately had six hundred years more cultivation than Fahai.
Fahai therefore held a grudge in his heart and vowed that "whether it is a thousand years or ten thousand years, he must catch her and kill her."
Another thousand years had passed, and when Bai Suzhen was about to attain enlightenment, she was instructed by Master Guanyin, and there was still a period of kindness that had not yet been reported, and she could not yet be ranked in the Immortal Class; and Fahai could not concentrate on cultivation because of "the old grudge was not over, and the hatred in his heart was difficult to reconcile", and he had achieved positive results early.
Therefore, Bai Suzhen, Fahai, and Xu Xian finally met in this life.
So, what did Fahai do in the days of "waiting for revenge"?
He befriended a heavyweight magnate as Prince Liang, and did not forget a local gentry like Xu Qian, and in the name of "forging a Buddhist relationship", he rebuilt the Golden Mountain Temple and became an abbot.
For rebuilding the Golden Mountain Temple, he was rewarded by the "Master" Rulai Buddha, and was given the deadly weapon that would later ambush the white snake, the Golden Bowl.
Alone, Fahai is by no means Bai Suzhen's opponent. But with this golden bowl, a white snake is not a problem.
But at this point, there's one of the most important questions —
For example, the Buddha once explained that this golden bowl only ambushed the elves and ghosts who had committed evil deeds. For beings with good intentions, we must focus on persuasion, and we must not abuse our treasures.
What does that mean?
Bai Suzhen, who is single-mindedly good, is not among the ambushes.
He has a weapon in his hand that can take revenge, but he is not allowed. This is simply too uncomfortable for Fahai.
If the same situation is changed to Xiaoqing, she will "ignore it" and directly take revenge;
If he were replaced by an "evil person" like Prince Liang, he would only act domineeringly and recklessly.
But Fahai is different from them, he is more "planned", more calm, natural, and more terrifying.
What kind of people are the most terrible?
The goal is clear, the heart is fierce, and there is no weakness.
What is Fahai's goal? Looking for revenge on Bai Suzhen?
wrong.
From beginning to end, Fahai had only one goal—to attain enlightenment.
After the previous two confrontations, Bai Suzhen became Fahai's "heart demon". Only by getting rid of the demons of the heart can we return to the Celestial Realm as soon as possible. Therefore, he must ambush Bai Suzhen and must take revenge.
After discovering Bai Suzhen's whereabouts, he quickly launched an action -
First of all, the hatred between Liang Wangye and Bai Suzhen was "upgraded".
Prince Liang himself has a vendetta against Bai Suzhen, how to escalate the hatred?
Revenge with the killing of the son.
As the only son of Prince Liang, Liang Lian did no evil and did nothing wrong, and he himself had already created boundless sins. More importantly, as the son of the "greatest gold lord" of the Golden Mountain Temple, he commanded Fahai and had no respect.
Therefore, Fahai designed Liang Lian to meet Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing released the snake to kill Liang Lian, and when Fahai arrived, he deliberately did not go to the rescue.
Kill two birds with one stone. The first is to let Liang Wangye and Xiao Qing, that is, to form a deep vendetta with Bai Suzhen; the second is to repay Liang Lian's "disrespectful revenge" for himself.
Even more ruthlessly, Fahai rushed to the Liang King's Mansion immediately afterwards--he brought back the soul of Liang Lian, who was "blocked by the evil ghost", and told Liang Wangye that the person was killed by Xiao Qing.
Enraged, Prince Liang issued an ultimatum to Fahai—if he did not get rid of the Qing and Bai snakes within three months, he would demolish the Golden Mountain Temple.
Do you think this is a threat to the Fahai?
On the contrary, it is in the right place.
The enraged Prince Liang just let Fahai have something to say in front of the Buddha:
Prince Liang threatened to demolish the Golden Mountain Temple, and in order to protect the land of Buddhism, I could only meet the request of Prince Liang and get rid of Bai Suzhen.
How to divide it?
With a gold bowl.
When the disciple used the golden bowl, he really had to, and hoped that the Buddha would forgive him.
In this way, unknowingly, Fahai cleverly gained the privilege of using the golden bowl.
So, how can we really subdue Bai Suzhen, who is single-minded and good?
Force her to break the rules.
What does it mean to be a criminal? What a killing.
How to make Bai Suzhen "kill"? Irritate her with her soft ribs.
In "New White", Fahai crushes Bai Suzhen with an absolute advantage. Because Bai Suzhen has a fatal weakness - Xu Xian.
Therefore, Fahai deliberately went to visit Xu Xian's new friend Xu Qian and led him to the Golden Mountain Temple to "make friends with the Buddha."
At the same time, naturally I can't forget to bring my new friend Xu Xian.
Everything is in order.
Another important point is that Fahai even chose the right time - when the Qiantang River was at high tide.
This has created excellent conditions for Bai Suzhen's "flooding golden mountain".
Xu Xian arrived at the Golden Mountain Temple, and Fahai told Xu Xian the identities of the Qing and Bai Snakes. While playing a small video for him, Fahai cleverly cut out the fragment that was not beneficial to himself.
Taking advantage of Xu Xian's shock, Fahai asked Xu Qian to send a letter to Bai Suzhen with half fright and half threat.
As soon as Bai Suzhen came, their feud could be settled.
But he never expected that Bai Suzhen could humbly kneel down and beg him.
So he began to hurt Xiaoqing and force Bai Suzhen to shoot.
Finally, taking advantage of the rising tide of the Qiantang River, Bai Suzhen flooded the Jinshan Mountain and made a big mistake.
By this time, all the conditions were already in place, and the results had been cast, and it was only a matter of time before Fahai started.
In Fahai's "watertight" action, you will come to a terrible conclusion:
Fahai didn't make any mistakes.
All his actions are "going with the flow."
He strictly followed the rules of Buddhism, the rules of the human world, and even the tidal laws of nature.
He is invisible, making everyone around him use it for himself.
Others are pushed by him to become "bad people" unconsciously, and he just waits to laugh behind his back.
Even Xiao Qing said at the end: Although Fahai is ruthless, he has no transgressions.
So back to the very beginning question: Is there any truth in the end of Fahai's "becoming immortal"?
We will sadly find that Fahai does not have the principle of "not becoming an immortal".
Hate is one thing, but rules are another.
So the character of Fahai, in "The Legend of the New White Lady", is simply playing the role of "evil man"?
No.
He represents a kind of complexity in the world, representing the gray area between "black and white".
If "The Legend of the New White Lady" is just a simple story of "punishing evil and promoting good", it will not be passed on for 30 years.
Only by understanding the "ending" of the "bad guy" Fahai can we understand this classic "Legend of the New White Lady".
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Pay attention to the "equal division of the past" and look at the classics in a different way.