The animators are dorks.
Showing posts tagged a:tla
Cave of Two Lovers - Guardian Statues
The statues we see at the entrance of the cave are not demons, but guardian statues called Nio, which are usually found outside of temples to protect against evil.
Kongōrikishi (金剛力士) or Niō (仁王) are two wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in China, Japan and Korea in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are manifestations of the Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi protector deity and are part of the Mahayana pantheon. According to Japanese tradition, they travelled with the historical Buddha to protect him. Within the generally pacifist traditions of Buddhism, stories of Niō guardians like Kongōrikishi justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil.
Li and Lo’s Official Court Headdress
The headdress we see Li and Lo wear on Azula’s ship, and later when Azula and Zuko are welcomed back to the Fire Nation in season three, is inspired by the Manchu headdress called a liangba tou and the Chinese Long Horn Miao minority hairstyle.
The shape of Li and Lo’s hairstyle seems to be inspired by the Long Horn Miao’s hair, the decoration and execution remind more of the Manchu liang ba tou.
The Miao 苗are an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as one of the 55 official minority groups.
One particular tribe, centred on the village of Longga, is the Changjiao Miao. Changjiao or “Long Horns”, when directly translated, reflects the custom of animal horns being worn as head ornaments by tribe women for special occasions.
Liang Ba Tou
On non-official occasions, Manchu women wore an unusual headdress called a liang ba tou, with batwing-like shapes formed from false hair or black satin arranged over a frame which was anchored with haiirpins to the natural hair (fig 89). Literally “two handfuls of hair”, the hair itself was originally set and shaped this was, but during the nineteenth century was replaced by black satin as being more practical and easier to maintain.
Season Two, Episode: The Swamp
Things I just noticed: The Beijing Opera wagon passing by Uncle and Zuko when they are begging in the street of that little town, is where Zuko steals the Blue Spirit mask from for later use!
Also: That’s the dude he steal his dual swords from XD
Am I the only one who just noticed that?
Ghoooooosts! Run! Don’t take that money! Ghost money is cursed!
Clothes (of the living) are folded left over right, which is reversed for the funeral. Someone just walked off from their own funeral XD That lady is a zombie.
Cuuuuuuursed! Shouldn’t have stolen that ostrich-horse.
Fire Nation Colony Spa: Incense Burner
At the spa, at the beginning of season two, we see two incense burners in the background. Incense is not only burned at temples for worship but also has medicinal uses.
Incense in China is traditionally used in a wide range of Chinese cultural activities including, religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, traditional medicine, and in daily life. Known as xiang 香 (literally “fragrance”), incense was used by the Chinese cultures starting from Neolithic times with it coming to greater prominence starting from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.
Image source: One
Song’s Clothing and Clinic Furniture
Song is wearing a traditional Korean dress called a
Hanbok (South Korea) or Chosŏn-ot (North Korea) is the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Traditional women’s hanbok consists of jeogori, a blouse shirt or a jacket and chima, a wrap-around skirt, which is usually worn full. The ensemble is often called chima jeogori. Men’s hanbok consists of jeogori and baji which means pants in Korea. The bajwere baggy pants in traditional men’s hanbok.
The cabinet we see behind her is for the storage of herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. and in Traditional Korean medicine 한의학 - 韓醫學, which developed with the influence of Traditional Chinese medicine and thus is rather similar.
Song’s Clinic
The sign above the door reads 醫 Yi. Yi means both: Doctor or Medicine.Song’s
profession as a doctor of Traditional Medicine would be called 中医 Zhong Yi.
The other doctor treating the man is using fire cupping.
Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a local suction is created on the skin; practitioners believe this mobilizes blood flow in order to promote healing.[1] Suction is created using heat (fire) or mechanical devices (hand or electrical pumps).
Fire Cupping: The air inside the cup is heated and the rim is then applied to the skin, forming an airtight seal. As the air inside the cup cools, it contracts, forming a partial vacuum and enabling the cup to suck the skin, pulling in soft tissue, and drawing blood to that area.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum on the patient’s skin to dispel stagnation—stagnant blood and lymph, thereby improving qi flow—to treat respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia and bronchitis. Cupping also is used on back, neck, shoulder and other musculoskeletal conditions. Its advocates say it has other applications, as well.
Architecture of the Northern Air Temple
The round tower we see on the Northern Air Temple is modeled on the Hakka Walled Villages in Southern China.
A Hakka walled village is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China (Hakka is “Kè-jiā” 客家 in Chinese). Walled villages are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at the ground level.
Why are there so many different Chinese architectural styles in the A:TLA universe? Could this not all be coincidence?
Nope. The creators say it themselves in the Art Book:
Mike: … (when visiting China) But we also made a very lucky find when out tour guide brought us to an architecture park, where dozens of historical Chinese building styles from various eras and ethnicities were on display. … So Bryan and I split up and took as many pictures of the buildings as we could … (to use as inspiration later). (Official Art Book, page 86)
Image source: One
O-Ma and Shu Tomb
奧瑪舒城 Omashu City
永志恋情 Forever remember (their) love