7/25/2023 0 Comments Avatar elementsFor one, including the element of air obviously changes the premise of the show dramatically. In the end, it makes a lot of sense that the showrunners made the choice they did. Wuxing represents ever-changing materials, thus it’s translated to English as Five Phases rather than Five Elements. It’s also worth noting that Wuxing does not approach the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) with the same fixedness as Avatar. While each culture has its own beliefs and history behind the elements (and slight variations as well as additions), the four elements featured in Avatar are frequently included in element-based philosophies. As Konietzko notes:Įlemental theories indeed exist around the world – and have for thousands of years. Related: Avatar: Why Zuko Is The Blue Spirit (Not Red)Īccording to Bryan Konietzko in the book Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Art of the Animated Series, it was mostly due to simplicity, and the fact that the Five Phases philosophy is not the only element-based philosophy that exists in ancient Chinese culture. Since so many other parts of Avatar were inspired by Chinese culture, why weren’t these five elements used in the show? The common English translation of Wuxing is Five Phases, referring to five natural elements: wood ( mu), fire ( huo), earth ( tu), metal ( jin), water ( shui). But what’s interesting is that one of these subskill elements exists as part of Wuxing (also written Wu-Hsing), an ancient Chinese philosophy – while air does not. For example, earthbenders can learn metalbending, waterbenders can learn bloodbending, and firebenders can learn lightning bending. Of course, in Avatar, there are other elements that benders can control, but they all fall under the category of one of the four main elements.
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