The Chinese myth of the white snake and the meddling monk - Shunan Teng

The setting of the Tale of the White Snake took place in real locations of China and some of these locations have become tourist attractions because of the story. One of the most notable is the Lei Feng Pagoda. This ancient Pagoda was first built in 977AD and eventually collapsed in 1924 after almost 1000 years. The first three decades of 20^th century is a time of rapid reforms in China and writer Lu Xun at the time wrote an influential essay about the event called: On the Fall of Lei Feng Pagoda. In this essay he metaphorically related the collapse of the pagoda and the wish to free Bai Su Zhen to anti-repression sentiments of the people. Lei Feng Pagoda was rebuilt in 2002 and is now a top tourist attraction in the city of Hang Zhou.

Xu Shi Lin won the first place in imperial exam and obtained the title of Zhuang Yuan. The imperial exam was a long lasting system in ancient China for selecting civil service officials. Though far from perfect, this system had greatly facilitated social mobility in ancient China and have a profound impact on how Chinese culture view education.