It is no surprise that the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender is directly influenced by Chinese culture. Some more obvious cultural influences are tea, the use of chopsticks, the background music inspired by traditional Chinese music, and the use of the character writing system. However, this analysis will go deeper into the elements of how Chinese culture is seen throughout the world-building and many cultures of the Avatar universe.
Martial Arts
Martial arts are a key part of Avatar and its worldbuilding. Each character in Avatar has a different way of fighting based on their background, culture, and power.
Waterbending:
The art of waterbending is very similar to the slow, flowing movements of Tai Chi (太极 Tàijí。 Similar to Tai Chi, waterbending alignment, breath, and body structure are very important. Additionally, some water benders have the power to heal, which is also evident in Tai Chi’s healing abilities and Chi balancing.
Earthbending:
Traditional earthbending is based on a style of fighting called Hung Gar Kung Fu, which mostly focuses on strategies of defense instead of a slower style like Tai Chi.
Toph’s Bending Style:
Toph’s bending is based on the Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, which has more to do with close-range attacks and keeping the feet firmly planted on the ground.
Firebending:
Firebending is based on the Northern Shaolin martial arts style and includes fast and hard strikes, though it sacrifices the advantage of defensive strategies that many other styles have.
Weapons:
Many of the weapons used by many of the characters are based on weapons created by the Chinese such as Zuko’s dual broadswords and Sokka’s space sword. Zuko’s swords are similar to the dao (dāo 刀, which are single-edged and single-handed swords. Sokka’s space sword, however, is a classic jian sword (jiàn 剑).
The Legend of Korra:
Unfortunately, there is not as much Chinese influence in Legend of Korra as Avatar: The Last Airbender but there are still some elements throughout. For example, the Republic City is supposed to represent the time when China was starting to industrialize and conform to a more western approach.
In addition, the symbol for the Equalists is 平（Píng), which means equal and fair.
Sources:
https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Influences_on_the_Avatar_franchise#Martial_arts
this article was great! i learned so many new things such as that avatar i putted chinese culture into their videos! such as martial arts, water bending, earth bending, fire bending, and weapons. the influence of chinese culture on movies and shows is now growing! many more producers are adding on different ideas! i liked how you compared the chinese culture with the movie and compared how they were similar and how they were different! keep up the great work!
I didn’t realize that Avatar had such a big relation to Chinese culture. The forms used in the show had many similarities after reading this document. I am grateful to have learn that the weapons’ used in the Avatar are traditions Chinese weapons
I never realized that the different types of bending were related to the types of martial arts in China.
I never realized that the different types of bending were related to the types of martial arts in China.
I love the show Avatar! I am learning about the Chinese industrialization now in history class, so the legend of Korra can relate to both Chinese and history class. I want to go visit china so i can see the weapons used in avatar.
I love watching the show Avatar. It is very interesting to learn that Avatar was influenced by China. Now I understand why the cities in the show Avatar seemed like Chinese civilizations,
The implementation of different Chinese martial arts styles representing the different types of elements used in Avatar is a very interesting choice from the writers of the show. The similarities of the stances taken in the show and in real life really shows the depth of their research into Chinese martial arts. Very interesting!
Avatar was a great show. I didn’t know it had such influence of Chinese culture. I learned about weapons and traditions of the Chinese
Avatar was a great show. I didn’t know it had such influence of Chinese culture. I learned about weapons and traditions of the Chinese
Interesting how many popular movies are influenced by Chinese martial arts and culture. Many popular animated series all tend to incorporate some type of Asian culture which is very important in this day in age.