In the West, the snake is a symbol of ingratitude and evil. In Chinese idioms in the East, there are also expressions like “as vicious as a viper” (蛇蝎心肠), “local bully snake” (地头蛇), and stories about snake demons harming people. If the snake is truly evil, then why is there the gentle and affectionate image of Lady White Snake? If it is truly kind, then how could the snake become a symbol of evil and cruelty?

The picture above shows the snake-shaped mascot of a shopping mall when the Chinese Year of the Snake was approaching… But even though there are different opinions about snakes, you can’t “fool” us with such an ugly-cute snake mascot! After all, the snake is a totem of Chinese civilization! 

This Nüwa really looks very serious.

Can snakes really be played with like this? You two teenagers, be careful with your tongues!

This shape closely resembles the double helix structure of DNA.

In Chinese mythological stories, what is most impressive is undoubtedly Fuxi (伏羲) and Nüwa (女娲), the primogenitors of humanity. Both of them are depicted in the form of having a human head and a snake’s body. One theory goes that in ancient times, when the early people went out hunting, they often encountered snakes. They noticed that snakes had extremely strong reproductive abilities, and they hibernated and shed their skins. Thus, they believed that snakes possessed supreme divine power. It was thought that when snakes opened their eyes, it was daytime, and when they closed their eyes, it became night. Snakes were even credited with the miraculous abilities of attaining immortality and coming back to life after death.

According to the description in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (《山海经》), there is even a kinship between dragons and snakes. For example, the God of Zhongshan Mountain, Zhulong (烛龙), has a human face and a snake’s body, and his son Gu (鼓) has a human head and a dragon’s body.

In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Xiangliu (相柳) also has a human head and a snake’s body. He is a powerful general under Gonggong (共工). His whole body is blue in color. It is said that he has nine heads, and these nine heads can get along harmoniously with each other and eat together. Just because he is good at fighting, he has also become a character that can carry the plot in film and television works, and he must be good-looking.

In ancient times, people who relied on the weather for their livelihood hoped to establish a connection with the magical abilities of these creatures in the hope of obtaining protection. Therefore, they would shape the images of their ancestors and totems according to the characteristics of snakes. Among the totem images of primitive worship, the snake appeared first, and then the dragon. That’s why people also call the snake the “little dragon”. According to the Records of Marvels written by Ren Fang (梁任昉, 《述异记》) in the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, “A hui (虺, a kind of small snake) will transform into a jiao (蛟, a dragon-like creature) after five hundred years, a jiao will transform into a dragon after a thousand years, a dragon will turn into a horned dragon (角龙) after five hundred years, and then into a Yinglong (应龙, a winged dragon) after another thousand years.”

People also made various patterns in the shape of snakes as decorations and placed them on important items such as ritual vessels. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Panhui pattern (蟠虺纹, see the picture above) was popular. Generally speaking, it is a kind of “snake pattern”, which is composed of the coiled images of small snakes (hui). As shown in the left picture above, the golden sword handle with the Panhui pattern from the Spring and Autumn Period, which is now lost in the British Museum, is covered with continuous Panhui patterns.

Qin Shi Huang considered himself the “First Dragon,” so the dragon gradually became a symbol of imperial power, and the status of the snake declined. However, the snake still retained its legendary charm among the common people. In the Han Dynasty, snakes appeared together with other auspicious omens, symbolizing good luck. In the Taoist mythological system, the snake was regarded as a spiritual creature, as the saying goes, “When a snake turns into a dragon, its patterns remain unchanged.”

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist art was in vogue. In Buddhist imagery, the snake was used both to warn people to restrain their greed and as a Dharma-protecting god to safeguard the Buddhist teachings.

In the Song Dynasty, the Neo-Confucianism of the Cheng-Zhu school was prevalent, and the image of the snake became more closely related to daily life. The prototype of the Legend of the White Snake in the Southern Song Dynasty also spread among the people. The image of Bai Suzhen (白素贞), who was affectionate, righteous, beautiful, and kind, broke through people’s stereotypical perception of snakes and, moreover, expressed people’s yearning for love and freedom. At the same time, the saying of “snake demons” also circulated among the people. Hong Mai’s Yijian Zhi (宋洪迈,《夷坚志》) in the Song Dynasty stated, “Snakes are most likely to turn into demons, taking on human forms to charm people, and many historical records contain such stories.”

snake became more diverse. In the early Ming Dynasty, the python pattern, as a symbol of nobility, gradually became a decoration on official robes. “During all celebrations, all officials wore python-patterned robes.” In the Ming Dynasty, the image of the python varied. Sometimes it was depicted with horns and claws, having four claws, similar to a dragon, and there was also a version without horns and claws, which was distinct from the dragon.

Among the common people, the snake had always been believed to possess the power to communicate with the heavens and had an adaptability that the dragon could not match. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms (《三国演义》), when Cao Cao and Liu Bei were having a conversation over warm wine and green plums about heroes, Cao Cao once said, “The dragon can be large or small, can soar or hide; when large, it can create clouds and spit fog, when small, it can conceal its form; when soaring, it can fly between the universe, when hiding, it can lurk within the waves.” What was actually referring to the ability to hide its form here was the snake.

Snakes also have an ability that is quite useful during the Spring Festival in 2025: they can seek wealth. There is a small story in Extensive Records of the Taiping Era (《太平广记》). It says that when snakes gathered in one place, the family dug there and found a large amount of money, thus becoming rich overnight. The “Snake Immortals” in folk beliefs have a wide range of functions. For example, in matters of childbirth, praying to them can bring the blessing of children; in transportation, praying to them can ensure smooth sailing for ships at sea; in imperial examinations, they can be prayed to for good luck in exams; in career and wealth, one can wish for promotion and fortune. Besides, having snakes in New Year paintings can also dispel evil and bring good fortune. It can be said that they cover almost every aspect of life.

Mr. Huang Yongyu (黄永玉) loves to paint snakes. In his paintings, the snakes are softly coiled into several curves, and the picture is clean, with nothing else but the snake. He once wrote a short phrase for one of his paintings: “It is said that the path is tortuous, so I have a supple body.” This sentence is very gentle and also quite in line with the way modern people deal with the world.

Summary

Snakes have transformed from mere animals to totemic symbols and gradually become a carrier of people’s emotional sustenance. In China, people’s impressions of snakes are diverse and multifaceted. Snakes are not entirely evil; they also have a gentle and hopeful side. It seems that a single thought can make something a god or a devil. When you face a snake, what do you see? Is it the snake itself or the desires within your heart? It has only been a few thousand years for our ancestors to progress from fearing snakes, to getting to know them, and then to revering them. Has the snake really changed? It seems that perhaps it is not the snake that has changed, but the prejudices in people’s hearts.