{ "id": "epfhrp24qf", "slug": "the-destiny-of-white-snake", "title": "The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama", "label": "Chinese modern and contemporary drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama.yr-1998-2023", "label": "Premiered 1998 to 2023", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama.yr-1998-2023" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Chinese modern and contemporary drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama", "label": "Chinese modern and contemporary drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说) is a 2018 iQiyi Chinese fantasy romance drama adapting the White Snake legend, starring Yang Zi and Ren Jialun; removed from streaming July 23, 2018 and not re-uploaded.", "snippet": "The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说) is a 2018 iQiyi Chinese fantasy romance drama adapting the White Snake legend, starring Yang Zi and Ren Jialun; removed from streaming July 23, 2018 and not re-uploaded.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_modern_drama.yr-1998-2023", "markdown": "# The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说)\n\n**The Destiny of White Snake** (天乩之白蛇传说; *Tian Ji Zhi Bai She Chuan Shuo*) is a 2018 Chinese television series adapted from the folk tale The Legend of the White Snake, telling a past-life and present-life romance between the small white snake Bai Yaoyao and the physician [Xu Xuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/xu-xuan)[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). It was produced by Huanrui Century, directed by Yin Tao and Liu Guohui, and streamed exclusively on iQiyi from July 9, 2018[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). Two weeks into its run the platform removed it for content adjustment, and a 2021 report states it has not returned to the service[2](https://k.sina.cn/article_6018721592_166be673800100fuqu.html?from=ent&subch=nauto) • [3](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2021-02-10/doc-ikftpnny6095377.shtml).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 天乩之白蛇传说 (Tian Ji Zhi Bai She Chuan Shuo)[4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Destiny_of_White_Snake) |\n| Broadcast | iQiyi, premiered July 9, 2018; removed from the platform July 23, 2018[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) • [2](https://k.sina.cn/article_6018721592_166be673800100fuqu.html?from=ent&subch=nauto) |\n| Episodes | 60 per production reporting; 61 listed by DramaWiki and TheTVDB[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) • [4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Destiny_of_White_Snake) |\n| Main cast | Yang Zi (Bai Yaoyao), Ren Jialun (Xu Xuan), Mao Zijun (Qi Xiao), Li Man (Xiao Qing); Carina Lau and Angie Chiu in special appearances[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) |\n| Rights deal | iQiyi paid 330 million yuan for exclusive online rights, about 5.5 million yuan per episode[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) |\n| Early viewership | 210 million total views by the evening of July 11, 2018[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) |\n| Ratings | Douban 6.2/10 from 86,202 users (March 2024); IMDb 6.8/10 from 50 users[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4/20385408?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and plot\n\nThe series retells the [Legend of the White Snake](https://www.edgepedia.org/legend-of-the-white-snake), one of China's four great folk love stories, as a xianxia (immortal-hero) fantasy with reincarnation and tragic-romance elements[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html) • [6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14712865). In the first life, Zi Xuan, a cultivator on Mount Jiuxi, falls in love with the young white snake Bai Yaoyao as she first takes human form. After separation by death, Zi Xuan reincarnates as Xu Xuan, master of the Medicinal Valley, who meets Bai Yaoyao at the Peach Blossom Festival and eventually marries her[7](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA-2018-11nul3set7p?lang=zh_tw).\n\nThe central tragedy follows the legend's classic beats with new framing. To save Xu Xuan's life, Bai Yaoyao steals a divine herb and violates heavenly law; after he recovers, Xu Xuan regains his past-life memories and sets out to rescue her[7](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA-2018-11nul3set7p?lang=zh_tw). Xu Xuan's junior colleague Leng Ning, jealous of Bai Yaoyao, unleashes a flood dragon that ravages the human world. For her own redemption Bai Yaoyao allows herself to be sealed beneath Leifeng Pagoda by Qi Xiao; Xu Xuan, heartbroken, renounces the world and enters a Buddhist monastery. Twenty years later Bai Yaoyao emerges from the pagoda, the karmic debt between the couple is resolved, and Qi Xiao takes monastic vows[8](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-destiny-of-white-snake).\n\nA second couple runs through the series: the green snake Xiao Qing and the demon catcher Qi Xiao, the character who corresponds to the monk Fahai of the traditional tale[8](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-destiny-of-white-snake).\n\n## Adaptation choices\n\n**Renamed leads, retained set pieces.** Screenwriter Han Peizhen said in a 2018 interview that she approached the project not as a remake but as a new interpretation, returning to classical texts for fresh angles. The male lead's name changed from Xu Xian to Xu Xuan and the white snake from Bai Suzhen to Bai Yaoyao, while classic scenes such as the snake taking human form, the meeting at [West Lake](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-lake), the revelation of the snake's true form after drinking realgar wine, and the suppression beneath Leifeng Pagoda were kept and retold from new angles with contemporary values worked in[9](https://k.sina.cn/article_6517649956_1847b7224019009ibe.html).\n\nThe most-discussed change concerns Fahai. In the traditional story he is the morally ambiguous enforcer who separates the couple; here his past life was Xu Xuan's drinking companion, and in the present life he is entangled romantically with Xiao Qing[10](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2304994.html). A Sina commentary criticized this softening, arguing that the adaptation blurred the story's traditional boundaries between human, demon, good, and evil, and reduced the tale to a fast-moving romance[2](https://k.sina.cn/article_6018721592_166be673800100fuqu.html?from=ent&subch=nauto).\n\nDirector Yin Tao framed the changes as deliberate: the team wanted viewers familiar with the legend to be unable to guess the next plot point, and he described Bai Yaoyao's pursuit of self-strengthening and autonomy as carrying modern women's values, while [Ren Jialun](https://www.edgepedia.org/ren-jialun)'s dual role as the two incarnations Zi Xuan and Xu Xuan, identical in face but different in temperament, was meant to reflect two modes of male devotion[11](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0702/c1012-30105826-7.html).\n\n## Production and release\n\nThe drama was announced with a cast combining popular young actors, Yang Zi, Ren Jialun, Mao Zijun, and Li Man, with the film star [Carina Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/carina-lau) and Angie Chiu, the Bai Suzhen of the classic 1992 series *New Legend of Madame White Snake*, in special roles[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). According to a Huanrui Century disclosure of October 2017, the company signed a 618 million yuan contract with iQiyi, of which 330 million yuan covered the exclusive online rights to this series, about 5.5 million yuan per episode[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). iQiyi released all episodes at once for members, a distribution model it was applying to several 2018 titles[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html).\n\nThe series premiered on July 9, 2018, and reached 210 million total views by the evening of July 11, a performance the trade press called unremarkable[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). A companion manhua (comic) adaptation was released simultaneously on major comic platforms as part of a \"film-comic linkage\" strategy aimed at younger, two-dimensional-culture audiences[12](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0709/c1012-30134358.html).\n\n## Reception and removal\n\nCritical response divided along audience lines. Some viewers found Yang Zi's dubbing and Ren Jialun's line delivery too idol-drama in flavor for a classic property, and felt the reincarnation plot moved too quickly in its early episodes for audiences attached to the original tale[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). Younger viewers who did not measure it against the source treated it as a fantasy idol drama comparable to *[The Journey of Flower](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-journey-of-flower)* and *Eternal Love*, and its traffic rose accordingly[1](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html). A People's Daily Online review judged that the series kept the Legend of the White Snake as its blueprint while adding fantasy and tragic-romance elements and fresher characterizations, though the Guangzhou Daily criticized rough props and effects despite the innovative plot and casting[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4/20385408?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma). Jiemian's media commentary noted that the series did not take the \"copy-paste\" route of some 2018 remakes, and credited its renewed storytelling with keeping pace with the times[13](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2330259.html).\n\n**Sudden removal.** On July 23, 2018, the series disappeared from iQiyi. The platform stated that it had obtained a distribution license but that \"its content needs adjustment\" and it was being taken offline temporarily, with a return date to be announced[14](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2334571.html). The removal came days after the National Radio and Television Administration's July 10 notice tightening review of summer programming[15](https://ent.sina.cn/2018-07-26/detail-ihfvkitw6993066.d.html?wm=3049_0015). A 2021 report on a related lawsuit stated that the drama had never returned to the platform, with Huanrui Century bearing the loss[3](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2021-02-10/doc-ikftpnny6095377.shtml). As of March 2024, aggregated user ratings stood at 6.2 on Douban and 6.8 on IMDb[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4/20385408?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma).\n\n## Place in the White Snake adaptation tradition\n\nThe Legend of the White Snake has been adapted repeatedly since the 1926 silent film, and each era reworks the characters to fit current tastes[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14712865). Within that lineage, *The Destiny of White Snake* is cited as an example of the 2018 wave of remakes that went far in adaptation, using the folk tale's core to tell a larger xianxia story rather than restaging the familiar plot[16](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0710/c1013-30136809-5.html). A 2025 academic survey of the legend's screen adaptations lists it among the recent works starring popular young idols alongside veteran actors, noting the large production and publicity it commanded and the social effects, expected and unexpected, that followed[17](https://www.jointpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/9789620457067-text.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [《天乩之白蛇传说》开播口碑差，欢瑞翻拍经典剧难翻身, 界面新闻 (犀牛娱乐), July 12, 2018](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2303725.html)\n2. [网剧《白蛇传说》遭突然下架，乱象丛生的古装剧究竟出了什么问题, 新浪新闻, July 25, 2018](https://k.sina.cn/article_6018721592_166be673800100fuqu.html?from=ent&subch=nauto)\n3. [《封神之天启》停播损失上亿 新文化起诉欢瑞世纪, 新浪财经, February 10, 2021](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2021-02-10/doc-ikftpnny6095377.shtml)\n4. [The Destiny of White Snake, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Destiny_of_White_Snake)\n5. [天乩之白蛇传说（2018年尹涛、刘国辉执导的电视剧）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4/20385408?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n6. [那些年我们嗑过的神仙 CP, 澎湃新闻·澎湃号·政务, September 29, 2021](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14712865)\n7. [天乩之白蛇傳說 (2018) 全集, 愛奇藝 iQ.com](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B9%A9%E4%B9%8B%E7%99%BD%E8%9B%87%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA-2018-11nul3set7p?lang=zh_tw)\n8. [天乩之白蛇传说, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-destiny-of-white-snake)\n9. [专访 | 韩佩贞：编剧应该在原著与时代之间寻找平衡点, 新浪新闻, 2018](https://k.sina.cn/article_6517649956_1847b7224019009ibe.html)\n10. [《天乩之白蛇传说》遭骂，但这可能是杨紫在欢瑞最后一部戏, 界面新闻, 2018](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2304994.html)\n11. [《天乩之白蛇传说》7月9日上线 杨紫任嘉伦海报唯美, 人民网, July 2, 2018](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0702/c1012-30105826-7.html)\n12. [《天乩之白蛇传说》 杨紫演绎小白蛇, 人民网 (北京青年报), July 9, 2018](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0709/c1012-30134358.html)\n13. [影像复制还是文化转码？翻拍剧大年，\"复制粘贴\"也是门技术活, 界面新闻 · JMedia, 2018](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2330259.html)\n14. [《白蛇》下线、《长安》延期：在古装、IP红利之后，欢瑞世纪要补钙了, 界面新闻, 2018](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2334571.html)\n15. [5档综艺2部剧\"爽约\"暑期档, 新京报 via 新浪, July 26, 2018](https://ent.sina.cn/2018-07-26/detail-ihfvkitw6993066.d.html?wm=3049_0015)\n16. [\"超级IP之战\"打响 \"流星花园\"\"白蛇传\"谁才是你记忆中的经典?, 人民网文化频道, July 10, 2018](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0710/c1013-30136809-5.html)\n17. [Joint Publishing (HK) book text on White Snake screen adaptations (2025)](https://www.jointpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/9789620457067-text.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese modern and contemporary drama › Premiered 1998 to 2023*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Destiny of White Snake (天乩之白蛇传说)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-destiny-of-white-snake. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Destiny of White Snake is a 2018 iQiyi Chinese fantasy romance drama adapting the White Snake legend, starring Yang Zi and Ren Jialun; removed from streaming July 23, 2018 and not re-uploaded." }