The world ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderis so detailed that each nation has a history and lore behind it, even if those elements don’t factor directly into the plot. It makes the world feel real and lived-in, even though it’s all fictional. The lore inATLAis revealed fairly naturally and slowly, without ever feeling like an infodump.
One of the areas that the main characters spend a lot of time in is the Earth Kingdom, home of the earthbenders. Not only do they find a few new people to add to their crew here, but a lot of big story elements happen in this corner of the world as well, from the Kyoshi Warriors to their time in Omashu to the conflict in Ba Sing Se. How did the Earth Kingdom come to be the way it is in the show, and what’s significant about it?
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How Was The Earth Kingdom Created?
The early Earth Kingdom, before it had that name, was part of the Spirit Wilds, and the people who were the predecessors to theinhabitants of the Earth Kingdomsurvived the harsh conditions of this place in various ways. Some lived on top of lion turtles, who gave them the ability to control the element of earth through energybending. Others took on a more nomadic lifestyle, roaming around the land. One group of nomads eventually settled and founded a city - Tienhaishi. Some of the early cultural practices of the Earth Kingdom carried on until the time ofATLA, such as the way they made fortified strongholds out of the earth.
The early Earth Kingdom citizens eventually left the lion turtles and began making establishments all over. The various states of the Earth Kingdom were constantly at war with each other, fighting for dominance, and unlike in the other nations where one culture would come out on top, the Earth Kingdom was large and diverse and managed to keep multiple cultures throughout it (most of which are modeled after real-world Chinese cultures). In the northeast, a city was created out of rocks that eventually became Ba Sing Se, and in the west, the star-crossed lovers Oma and Shu learned earthbending directly from the badgermoles andcreated a city (Omashu)in order to bring peace to their two warring villages.
What Is The State Of The Earth Kingdom During Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Over time, the monarchs of Ba Sing Se became increasingly powerful, and eventually one ruler in particular declared themselves the first Earth Monarch, to rule over the entirety of the Kingdom. Of course, due to the sheer size of the Earth Kingdom, it wasn’t possible to have one central regime, so it became a confederate monarchy, split into many different semi-autonomous provinces. All of the conflict and civil war came to a halt duringAvatar Kyoshi’s long stint as the Avatar, and the economy and industrialization grew.
The Earth Kingdom became the target of the Fire Nation, and they were one of the big obstacles that stopped the Fire Nation from totally taking over the world. This culminated with the Hundred Year War, in which the Earth Kingdom suffered great losses but was always hindering the Fire Nation from their goal. In 100 AG, the Earth Kingdom fell to a Fire Nation coup, but eventually,with the help of Avatar Aang, the Earth Kingdom was able to pull through and win the Hundred Year War. This led to a period where the Earth Kingdom could grow its power and influence once again.
What’s The Deal With Ba Sing Se?
One of the strangest experiences that Aang and co. have is their time in the capital city of Ba Sing Se. Ba Sing Se is the largest city in the world, and its name means “Impenetrable City”, named for the huge wall that surrounds the entire thing that canonly be opened by earthbending. It was where a lot of refugees from the Hundred Year War took shelter, as the Fire Nation had not yet been able to get through their defenses. However, Aang and his friends quickly notice that something is not quite right in the city, and that there might be something more sinister going on below the surface.
Though the Earth Monarch still existed, the real power in the city was held by the Grand Secretariat, Long Feng. He was head of the Dai Li - the secret police force that was created to deal with political dissidents - and as such, he enforced super strict laws throughout the city to keep order. His goal was to keep knowledge of the ongoing war from the Earth King so that Long Feng could maintain power, so it was absolutely forbidden to mention the war within the city, at risk of the Dai Li taking away people who did. This is what caused the famous line recited throughout the show: “There is no war in Ba Sing Se”.
Long Feng’s regime fell apart after he allied with Azula to stage a coup, before the Dai Li turned on him and he was forced tosurrender the city to the Fire Nation princess. Ba Sing Se remained a place for refugees after the war was over, but the government’s lack of resources led to a steep decline in the quality of life (though the corruption was still less than it had been when Long Feng was in power).
