How Avatar: The Last Airbender was influenced by Asian cultures and religions: a thread

In this thread I will show examples of how the creators of the series did a great job researching and adapting the different real-world cultures into Avatar: The Last Airbender

This thread will include some spoilers on Avatar: The Last Airbender and I will mention The Legend of Korra here and there so if u haven’t seen these masterpieces yet wtf are you even doing

The main idea of the four(later five) elements is inspired by the five great elements of Buddhism: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and eventually Aether(void/space). Also called the Mahābhūta

In Buddhism the elements are explained as follows:
-Earth represents solidity
-Water represents relative motion
-Fire represents heat and energy
-Air represents repulsive forces
-Aether represents spirituality

Similar characteristics can be found in the personalities of the respective nations within the show

Every bending style in A:TLA is based on actual chinese martial arts

Waterbending was based on the martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan. This art has a very fluid and elegant style, very similar to the movements of flowing water. Here a few of my fave examples

Just like waterbending t'ai chi ch'uan has non-martial art techniques that focus on ones health and chi. Waterbenders in the show can heal people and manipulate the chi with water

For those who don’t know: Chi (or Qi) is the central underlying principle in traditional chinese medicine and martial arts, also translated as energy flow. It’s believed to be a vital force in every living creature.
In A:TLA the chi is essential for bending

Next Hung Gar Kung Fu inspires the style for earthbending. Just like regular earthbending Hung Gar relies on their strong defense with rooting stances and heavy movements. This also goes well with the earth kingdom mentality

FUN FACT: Toph is the only earthbender that doesn’t use Hung Gar. Because she can gains sight trough the vibrations in the earth beneath her she has a unique fighting style influenced by the southern praying mantis. A style with a precise stepping technique

Firebending is based on northern Shaolin Kung Fu. This art features a „kicking over hand fighting“ style which is prominent for their quick attacks that mimic an explosion

Lightningbending on the other hand uses the Baji Quan Kung Fu style to match its explosive and sudden strikes with focus on elbows and shoulders

Airbending is all about circular and quick movements. Here the source material was Boguazhang which is often referred to as „circle walking“. Here the artist relies on skill rather than force and avoids direct contact

There are two combustionbenders in A:TLA. Both of them have a third eye on the forehead which is called „The Eye of Shiva“ in Hindu mythology. The Eye of Shiva is closed for the most part but when it opens it destroys everything it sees(just like combustion bending)

Now lets get into the nations one by one

The Water Tribes are the only nation not based on asia but on different indigenous cultures like the Inuit, Aboriginal Australians and etc. They live in Igloos, use boomerangs(ancient weapon used by Aboriginal Australians) and their ships are identical to the Polynesian

The Northern Water Tribe draws inspiration from indigenous cultures but is also influenced by japanese legends like the elixir of life(the healing watar katara uses) and the chinese philosophy of ying and yang (the spirit of moon and spirit of ocean)

In the series the spirit of moon is named „Tui“ and the spirit of ocean is „La“ these two names translate from chinese to „push“ and „pull“.
There is another ying and yang reference in The Legend of Korra. The two spirits of Peace and Chaos that live together in a balance

Meanwhile everything about the clothing, cuisine and architecture of the Earth Kingdom screams China

Just like the chinese Empire had the Jiyiwei, Ba Sing Se had the Dai Li. Even the name „Dai Li“ itself originates from the General Dai Li who led the nationalist secret police

The Earth King Kuei from the series is a direct reference to the last Emperor of China Puyi. They were both kept ignorant about their state, were locked in a palace, had no real power and even had very similar names and looks

In the show the Dai Li have a secret brainwash base called „Lake Laogai“, this a reference to the system of prison camps in China that exterminates political prisoners called Laogai

The Fire Nation is aesthetically mostly influenced by chinese culture.The Royal Fire Nation Palace draws influence from ancient egypt and chinese pagodas

The Royal Family can be seen having long hair and top knots which is an old chinese practice of letting your hair grow out because its „The gift your parents gave you“ and it would be disrespectful to damage it.
Cutting it off was a legal punishment as a sign of dishonor

Troughout the show we notice that the Fire Nation justifies their imperialism with the idea that they are superior to the other nations. The same argument Japan promoted during WW2 to justify their imperialism in Asia

The propaganda and censoring in the Fire Nation resembles the one in WW2 Japan aswell. A nationalist culture with a strong military-industrial complex that feeds misleading information in schools and on the streets.

Though there is no real Air Nation in A:TLA we know that the Air Nomads draw inspiration from Tibet culture, Shaolin Monks and Sri Lankan Buddhism. Their bald heads and the orange-yellow clothing make this pretty obvious

Also random fact: The name of Aangs mentor was Monk Gyatso, Aangs sons name was Tenzin. These two names form the name of the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso

The fire duel between warriors in the show is called Agni Kai. The God of fire in Hinduism is called „Agni“

„There are three kinds of Agni „fire of anger“, „fire of passion“ and „fire of digestion“ these need introspective and voluntary forgiveness, detachment and fasting, if one desires all spiritual freedom and liberation“
Zukos journey in the show is a reference to this philosophy

The concept of an „Avatar“ can be found in Hinduism and in Buddhism and both versions are too complex to explain in this thread but here is a short version of what I’ve found out

In Hinduism an avatar is an earthly incarnation of a divine being. In Hindu tradition divine beings could manifest themselves into avatars to restore balance

There is a very similar concept in Buddhism, the title of Dalai Lama.
In Tibet the Dalai Lama is incarnated from a line of chosen Buddha who embody the compassion of all Buddha. Just like the Dalai Lama, the avatar is a reincarnated custodian of a specific lineage of teachings

Aangs clothing in book 3 is almost identical to the clothing of the current Dalai Lama

In book 1 Aang finds out he is the avatar and the monks tell him they found out by making him pick objects from a big pile. The objects he picked belonged to him in his previous life and he picked them bc they were familiar. This practice is also used to identify the Dalai Lama

Now lets talk about Chakras

In the book 2 finale Aang meets Guru Pathik who tells him that in order to control the Avatar State he has to open his chakras

Opening the chakras is a common practice used to reach ones highest spiritual state and to let the „cosmic energy flow“ trough your body.
So pretty much how it also works in the show

Although there are different understandings of the chakras in different religions and cultures the most popular ones and the ones used in Avatar: The last Airbender are the Hindu teachings

In Hinduism there are 7 chakras located in the body. Each one of those is connected to a specific feeling, memory or instinct just like its explained in the episode „The Guru“(Book 2 EP19)

Ofc chakras are much more complicated than that and this is a very simple explanation but to explain chakras it would take more than just a thread and the EP still did a good job explaining the idea in general