Wanted Poster Easter Eggs
Hunting the Avatar would be a lot easier if Zuko could read
Zhao is hunting for Aang without offical permission
Zuko is not confirmed not to be a ghost
He’s mocked as ‘Admiral Bling’ aka Cheng Cheng 琤琤 - ‘the tinkling of gems’.
Toph’s not called ‘the Runaway’ in it.
Zuko’s and Uncle’s Wanted Poster
Zuko is still considered the crown prince, even if they mock him and okay the use of deathly force…
Five Things You Might Have Missed Watching A:TLA
The Earth King’s palace and The Fire Lord’s palace are the same place.
Check this out: The Fire Nation palace in the caldera and the Earth King’s palace in Ba Sing Se are both modeled after different parts of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Even the inside of the throne rooms matches.
Lake Laogai is real
Lao Gai is not a made up phrase or name. Lao 劳 Gai 改 is the abbreviation for Láodòng Gǎizào (劳动改造) “Reform Through Labor,” the slogan of prison labor camps in China (PRC) until 1990.
Toph’s parents are traitors
Nevermind the part where they don’t give a shit about the Earthrumble people planning to sell the Avatar to the Fire Nation.
Just look at all the dragon themed decoration they have Toph never knew about >:)
And at just how welcome Aang is at their dinner table. Here’s a hint: Count the vegetable dishes.
The constellations match the star map.
This is an amazing bit of continuity. The night sky in the episode “The Waterbending Master” matches the star map Katara has in the episode “The Desert”. They even adjusted it for season change.
Sokka ‘fortune’ comes true.
When Sokka kicks a stone after leaving Aunt Wu’s house it bounces off a sign with the character for ‘luck’ on it and hits him in the head.
This makes sense when you think about it: Toph sleeps with her feet off the ground XD
Toph’s Wanted Poster
緝拿逃犯
當局懸賞一千金幣
緝捕十二歲女童她
喬裝盲人個子雖小
極之危險報訊即賞
Wanted
Authorities are offering a reward of 1000 gold coins
for the arrest of this twelve year old girl. She disguises
herself as blind, and even though she is small,
she is very dangerous. Information (that will lead to
her arrest) will be rewarded.
Note: The name “Runaway” is not mentioned in the poster. The first part translates into “Apprehend fugitives” i.e. “Wanted”
ATLA - The House of Flying Daggers
Before anyone cries coincidence, the creators themselves (on the DVD commentary for The Waterbending Master) admit to having used scenes from this movie as inspiration.
I just rewatched THoFD tonight and thought I’d share some of the inspirations.
For the last few:
The not so helpless blind girl who can sense vibrations
Is called Mai and throws knives…
The last pic is because 金城武, that is why.
Cheongsam - Qi Pao
Both, Katara and Toph, as well as Asami are wearing qi paos. The difference in style can be explained by the different time periods i.e. what Asami wears is the height of fashion in the 1920, whereas Katara’s and Toph’s are of a more traditional style. Both styles are appropriate for the situation they’re worn in i.e. a royal party or, in Asami’s case, her being the fashionable daughter of a rich industrialist visiting a fancy restaurant.
The cheongsam is known in Mandarin as the Qi Pao. The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam that we know today was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and was made fashionable by socialites and upperclass women. The qipao is the traditional dress of the Manchu, not the Han Chinese, but became common during the Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty). Traditional Han dress is the hanfu.
Toph’s Passport
土國頭等護照
北方拓芙
Earth Kingdom Passport
first class
Toph Beifong
Sorry to bust beloved fanon, but according to her passport Toph does not hold any kind of aristocratic title. Titles are frequently stated in the show, be it Avatar, Prince, King or Master. Her passport not showing any means that her family appears to be ‘just’ filthy rich and not noble/royal.
My best guess on what’ First Class’ means is ‘I’m not one of those filthy Lower Ring fugitives’.
Toph’s Family is wearing Tang Dynasty clothing.
Throughout all atla nations we can see people wear different types of hanfu.
Hanfu 汉服 or Han Chinese Clothing, or Chinese Silk Robe refers to the historical dress of the Han Chinese people, which was worn for millennia before the conquest by the Manchus and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644.
The style we see Toph and her mother wear is from the Tang dynasty.
Note: The whole of the atla universe is a collage of China through the ages, with one dynasty prevalent in on specific region, with added outside influences i.e. Fire Nation architecture is strongly influenced by Thai architecture.
Click this! Pretty damn amazing re-enactment! Click! I know you want to!
More Tang Dynasty style hanfu i.e. pretty pictures!
More pretty pictures: Hanfu of different dynasties
The Bei Fong Mansion - Layout
Ever wondered how Toph managed to sneak out at night without her parents noticing?
The layout of the Bei Fong mansion follows the Siheyuan i.e. the traditional Chinese courtyard house.Take a look at the other layouts. Siheyuan come in all sizes —according to the owners’ wealth and status— the basic layout stays the same, it just gets multiplied if the place gets bigger and additional parts get added if there’s more family or money.
The siheyuan dates back as early as the Western Zhou period, and has a history of over 2,000 years.They exhibit outstanding and fundamental characteristics of Chinese architecture. They exist all across China and are the template for most Chinese architectural styles. The layout of a simple courtyard represents traditional Chinese morality and Confucian ethics. In Beijing, four buildings in a single courtyard receive different amounts of sunlight. The northern main building receives the most, thus serving as the living room and bedroom of the owner or head of the family. The eastern and western side buildings receive less, and serve as the rooms for children or less important members of the family. The southern building receives the least sunlight, and usually functions as a reception room and the servants’ dwelling, or where the family would gather to relax, eat or study. The backside building is for unmarried daughters and female servants: because unmarried girls were not allowed direct exposure to the public, they occupied the most secluded building in the siheyuan.
What does that mean for Toph and her family?
Take a look at the layout of their house(ses) and garden. Her parents live in the biggest house in back (since there seem to be no older/higher ranking members of the Bei Fongs present or living there). Toph herself would not live in the same house with them but in the smaller one next to it.
Ever wondered how she was able to sneak out? Much easier to do when you do not sleep next to your parent’s or your nanny’s bedroom.
The house at the garden gate is for receptions and potentially also where dinner was served.
Aang, Katara and Sokka most likely got given a room in one of the houses on the left or right.
The Bending Arts: Earthbending
Earthbending is based on:
Hung Ga 洪家, Hung Kuen 洪拳, or Hung Ga Kuen 洪家拳 is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga.
The hallmarks of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably its “sei ping ma”[1] horse stance, and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand[2] and the versatile tiger claw.[3]
Compare:
and
And here’s the creators talking:
![The Bending Arts: Earthbending
Earthbending is based on:
Hung Ga 洪家, Hung Kuen 洪拳, or Hung Ga Kuen 洪家拳 is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga.
The hallmarks of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably its “sei ping ma”[1] horse stance, and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand[2] and the versatile tiger claw.[3]
Compare:
and
And here’s the creators talking:](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx5r7roWd71r7coaeo1_500.jpg)
