Scope and Contents The penholder has an excerpt of text painted on it from the Kunqu opera Lei feng ta (雷峰塔) written by Fang Chengpei (方成培), a Qing Dynasty composer of Kunqu opera. The opera is based on the traditional Chinese mythological tale Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳). The illustration on the pen holder depicts a scene from the opera involving the couple: Xu Xian, a mortal scholar, is standing on the left holding a basket, while a boatman rows behind him. Bai Niangzi, a white snake deity that appears...