A cornerstone of Chinese popular culture, the legend of the White Snake--the admirable demon who loves her victim--has been continually rewritten, reinterpreted, and readapted for over five hundred years. "The Precious Scroll of Thunder Peak" was one of the most popular nineteenth-century versions of the legend.

In bringing together translations of the "Scroll," four anonymous youth books, and other texts related to the development of the White Snake legend, this volume opens a window into the richness and variety of premodern Chinese popular literature. It also illustrates the ways in...