Mike and Bryan Cameo at Azulon’s Funeral
We just rewatched “Zuko Alone” and I noticed something amusing: There’s a Mike and Bryan cameo in Azulon’s funeral procession. :D
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The Boiling Rock
The Boiling Rock was inspired by the prison island of Alcatraz (see Art Book p. 157).
But what I find really cool is that there’s a real place in the Philippines, the Taal Volcano, which is a boiling lake in a caldera in a lake with an island inside it. Pretty cool flaming, isn’t it :D
If you want to know more about that volcano go watch BBC’s Wonder of Life. I really enjoyed that series.
Relation of yours?
So, I’m a little busy this week. There will be real content again come Friday.
- Jin
This makes sense when you think about it: Toph sleeps with her feet off the ground XD
Blue Dragon - Red Dragon: The meaning of color
Traditional Chinese art views red, black, blue-green, yellow and white as the base colors. Each color corresponds with an element (note: NOT the Greek elements) Water, fire, wood, metal and earth. In the past the Theory of the Five Elements was used to select colors. More.
The Red Dragon
Red is the color of prosperity, good fortune and happiness. Red dragons are associated with luck, fire and passion. Red dragons are the dragons of summer and the South. Red also stands for happiness.
The Blue Dragon
Blue/Green is the color of nature, serenity and growth. Blue dragons are the dragons of spring and the East. Blue also symbolizes immortality.
Note: Blue and Green are seen as the same color, not the same shade.
Now, why is Azula a blue/green dragon in Zuko’s dream? It’s a pun. Again :P Take a look at the table: Green - East - Azure Dragon
Image source: One
Hi, Jin here!
A:TLA Annotated is now also on this newfangled thing called Twitter.
I plan on cross-posting as well as reposting links to the older posts.
-Jin
The Dragon Mural in the Sun Warrior Temple and the Nine Dragon Wall
The mural you see in the Sun Warrior temple when Aang and Zuko climb the stairs, is based on the Nine Dragon Wall.
Compare the placement of the dragons, the placement of the flaming pearl vs the circles of flames and the way the waves and flames are stylized.
This similarity leads to an interesting question: Does the mural also depict nine dragons? Are we only shown one small piece of the whole mural?
The Rule of Three and Five
Ever noticed how prominent the number three (and 3x3) is in the Fire Nation?
We see it in on the number of layers the Fire Lord’s clothes have, the rings of fire on the ancient murals, the number of single statues in the temple, the points on the flame symbol, the pointy bits on roofs, the pointy bits on chairs, the throne room, and I am sure if you looked even more closely, many more places.
Now why did the animators run with sets of three/nine?
The number nine had a special meaning in Imperial China.
Nine is the largest one digit number, thus the most important i.e. symbolizing the emperor. Further, nine is the number most frequently associated with dragons i.e. a dragon 117 (9x13) scales - 81 (9x9) Yang and 36 (9x4) Yin. This is also why there are nine forms of the dragon and the dragon has nine offspring.
The number nine also features majorly in the design of the Forbidden City, not only because it represents the emperor, but also because it is an auspicious number because nine (九) it is a homophone for ‘longlasting’ (久) i.e. wishing the emperor health and a long rule.
The number five stands for the five elements, as well as, you guessed it, dragons.
The number 5 (五, Pinyin: wŭ)is associated with the five elements (Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Metal) in Chinese philosophy, and in turn was historically associated with the Emperor of China. For example, the Tiananmen gate, being the main thoroughfare to the Forbidden City, has five arches.
This lucky number earns its status partly from being a conjugation of the number two (yin) and three(yang).
The five traditional Chinese blessings: Wealth, Happiness, Longevity, Luck and Prosperity.
The Chinese zodiac symbol for number five is the Chinese Dragon and its corresponding direction in Feng Shui is East/Southeast.
So, it is not really a surprise that in A:TLA’s sinocentric universe the animators decided to further link the Fire Lord and the dragons together with these numerical and visual puns.
And before I hear cries of: COINCIDENCE!!! For one, that would be heaps of coincidence. But also keep in mind that a lot of the animators are Korean i.e. are familiar with these number games and on top of that that the creators and writers did tons of research to get things right.
Dragons and the Rising Sun
The decoration on the boxes containing Sozin’s multiple testaments mimic the two dragons and the rising sun we see in “The Firebending Masters”.
Look closely and you can see two dragons with a Fire Nation flame symbol in the middle.
