本文追溯明清以降，讀者(或作者)基於其所處的時代關懷對白蛇故事中的雷峰塔所作的非歷史性建構，從而探討書寫與不同時代主流文化論述互動的歷史意義。在明代馮夢龍《警世通言》所收錄的〈白娘子永鎮雷峰塔〉中，白蛇傳、雷峰塔故事的情節、人物至此大致成型。〈白娘子永鎮雷峰塔〉主旨在宣揚釋家勸善懲惡、告誡色慾的教化色彩。在馮夢龍筆下，雷峰塔被形塑成鎮懾邪惡勢力的正義形象。到了清代乾隆以後的雷峰塔故事，雖然仍是延續傳統道德教化之目的，然而，為了增添戲曲演出的臨場效果、應觀眾要求而添加白娘子生子狀元及第等情節。 雷峰塔故事發展到清代，白娘子漸蛻獸性，並轉變成溫婉賢淑的女子，刻畫母愛的理想女性。而隨著文本傳統中的白蛇被馴化、蛻除獸性，雷峰塔道德神聖性的象徵也隨之漸漸消解。到了五四時期，在知識份子反傳統論述典範架構下，雷峰塔被塑造成傳統禮教壓迫的象徵；而對馬克思主義者而言，打倒雷峰塔，適足以展現無產階級革命的意象。由於白蛇傳故事在反傳統、反封建論述下被挪用、重新發明的結果，已逐漸脫離原創的文本脈絡；而當代讀者在受到其所處時代氛圍的影響，亦以反傳統、反封建的視角，理解白蛇故事，文本的閱讀，遂取決於讀者所處之文化脈絡。從明清到民國以降，透過不同時代的眼光，折射出教化── 封建的光譜序列，從而幻化出雷峰塔的各式影像。相應於雷峰塔在現實世界的倒毀，虛擬文本中雷峰塔的意象，早已隨著不同時代變遷的文化價值觀的牽引而變形。

My essay traces the evolution of one of the most well-known dramas in Chinese history, the legend of Leifeng Pagoda and the White Snake. The Tale of Leifeng Pagoda was shaped in the Ming dynasty. In the original text, Leifeng Pagoda symbolized the power of Buddhism and the protagonist, Maiden White, showed lustful desire. During the Qing period, the story was rewritten. Maiden White was transformed into an ideal Confucian woman, and Leifeng Pagoda represented the bastion of Confucian and Buddhist virtues. The plot of this story still reflected the deep concern among writers from Ming to Qing for moral virtue and the rectification of ethical values. However, during the May Fourth Movement, intellectuals inveighed against feudal society and traditional Confucian morality, and Maiden White was re-written as a modern feminist’s quest for true love and freedom. Besides, communist writers re-interpreted the Leifeng Pagoda’s collapse as the breakdown of feudalism and the success of proletarian revolution. My analysis of the different versions and interpretations of the Legend of the White Snake throughout late imperial and modern Chinese history shows how conceptions of morality among readers and writers during the Ming and Qing dynasties and modern Chinese intellectual ideology affected the construction, production, and dissemination of this drama.