Jurassic Park meets A:TLA
Have a Jurassic Park movie reference gif while I finish up the post about the Spirit Library.
Showing posts tagged season two
Foxy Knowledge Seekers
Fox Spirits are called Huli Jing in Chinese and Kitsune in Japanese. Neither description fits the fox spirits we see in ATLA one-hundred percent, but they do seem to have more in common with the Kitsune than the Huli Jing. Kitsune are believed to possess superior inteligence i.e. this matches the ‘Knowledge Seeker’ part, where as Huli Jing are usually malicious. Both can take the form of human women. We know, Zei, we know.
In Chinese mythology, it is believed that all things are capable of acquiring human form, magical power, and immortality, provided that they receive sufficient energy, in such forms as human breath or essence from the moon and the sun.
Typically fox spirits were seen as dangerous, but some of the stories in Pu Songling’s Liaozhai Zhiyi are love stories between a fox appearing as a beautiful girl and a young human male.
Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yōkai, or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities.
The Library
The document says 萬知堂神祕圖書館.
‘Spirit Wan Zhi Tang’s Hidden Library’ or 'The Hidden Library of the Spirit of the
Hall of Eternal Knowledge’
萬知堂神 Wan zhi Tang shi
萬 means 10000 if you read it literally, but also means 'a huge number, unending, gazillion’.
知 zhi means to know
堂 tang means hall
神 shen means spirit or god
祕 mi means secret, hidden, or mysterious
圖書館 tu shu guan means library
The Order of the White Lotus
Sometimes a lotus is just a cigar! Or how Uncle did not found the Triads.
ATLA’s Order of the White Lotus shares a name with the White Lotus Sect. Please note that this is utterly coincidental, if not amusing :D
White Lotus (白蓮教 Pinyin: báiliánjiào ) was a type of Buddhist sectarianism that appealed to many Han Chinese, who found solace in worship of the “Unborn or Eternal Venerable Mother”* ( 无生老母), who was to gather all her children at the millennium into one family.
The first signs of the White Lotus Society came during the late thirteenth century. Mongol rule over China, known also by its dynastic name, the Yuan dynasty, prompted small, yet popular demonstrations against its rule. The White Lotus Society took part in some of these protests as they grew into widespread dissent.
The Mongols considered the White Lotus society a heterodox religious (contrary to the orthodox view) sect and banned it, forcing its members to go underground. Now a secret society, the White Lotus became an instrument of quasi-national resistance and religious organization.
The Fire Nation Palace and the meaning of the numbers five and nine in a Sino-centric Universe.
It is no coincidence that The Fire Nation throne room has five rows of pillars, or that each pillar has nine rows of ornamentation.
Not only is the Fire Nation palace visually modeled on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, it also copies its number symbolism.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest (of all the halls in the Forbidden City), and rises some 30 metres (98 ft) above the level of the surrounding square. It is the ceremonial centre of imperial power, and the largest surviving wooden structure in China. It is nine bays wide and five bays deep, the numbers 9 and 5 being symbolically connected to the majesty of the Emperor.
The number five
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.
The number nine
The number 9 (九, Pinyin: jiŭ) was historically associated with the Emperor of China, and the number was frequently used in matters relating to the Emperor, before the establishment of the imperial examinations officials were organized in the nine-rank system, the nine bestowments were rewards the Emperor made for officials of extraordinary capacity and loyalty, while the nine familial exterminations was one of the harshest punishments the Emperor sentenced; the Emperor’s robes often had nine dragons, and Chinese mythology held that the dragon has nine children. It also symbolizes harmony.
Moreover, the number 9 is a homophone of the word for “longlasting” (久), and as such is often used in weddings.
The Fire Nation palace and the Earth King’s palace in Ba Sing Se are both modeled on the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Fire Nation
The Fire Nation palace is modeled on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, with some added Thai architectural elements i.e. the flames on edge of the roof.
Earth Kingdom
The design of the Earth King’s palace, on the other hand, is modeled on the Meridian Gate.
Note: There will be more on the palace in Ba Sing Se, once I get to those episodes.
Earth Rumble Promotes Socialism
The Earthrumble symbol does look a lot like the Socialist ‘raised fist salute’.
No, I am not being serious. This is 99.9% just a coincidence, or, at the most, someone giggling over their visual joke.
Professor Zei practices Phrenology
Professor Zei, the the head of the Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University, uses phrenology to asses Aang. What is thrown in as a quick joke actually portrays Professor Zei as -while affable- more than a tad racist. And that is not the only time. Remember how dismissively he treats the Sandbenders? Using the word ‘shoo’ to actual people, in a non-joking way, says a lot about what he thinks of them.
Phrenology is a theory which claims to be able to determine character, personality traits, intelligence and criminality on the basis of the shape of the head by measuring the size and shape of the skull and reading bumps.
It has NO base in reality but is/was solely used to justify racist, sexist and classist ideologies i.e. women have smaller skulls, so 'of course’ we have to be less intelligent than men, who on average have bigger skulls. Or shall we try the 'that low brow makes you a criminal’? Yeah…
Guess who also used this charming theory? The Nazis and other eugenics loving governments.
A long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away
the four nations lived together in
harmony. Then everything changed when
the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master
of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world
needed him most, he vanished.
There’s only one correct way to draw sunflowers: Van Gogh style! Obviously!