Post by SAMMY on Jul 23, 2009 10:59:31 GMT -5
GENERAL/GOVERNMENT/CUSTOMS
"The Earth Kingdom is one of the world's four major nations. It is a confederate monarchy led by the Earth King. A massive continent taking up most of the planet's eastern hemisphere, the Earth Kingdom is roughly analogous to Eurasia in our world. The Earth Kingdom is home to most of the world's Earthbenders. The capital of the Earth Kingdom is Ba Sing Se. The Earth Kingdom is the largest country in the world in both population figures and land area. Thus, it is an ethnically diverse country, with wide variance in customs between different provinces and tribes. It also has a large economy based on agriculture and limited industry, though it is not as powerful as the technologically advanced Fire Nation. Unlike the Air Nomads and Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom has not suffered a heavy loss of life or any sort of extinction in civilization or its Earthbenders. The Earth Kingdom has long withstood encroachments on their borders in the Fire Nation's century-long imperialist war. Though the Water Tribes aid the Earth Kingdom in the war, the conflict continues to progress poorly. Other than the Avatar, the Earth Kingdom was the only real obstacle between the Fire Nation and complete world domination.
the culture of the Earth Kingdom is far less defined than those of the other nations. This is due to its immense size. Due to their manipulation of Earth, which Iroh refers to as the "element of substance", Earthbenders are virtually immovable, as reflected in the personality of the Earth Kingdom's citizens. Many hints state that the Earth kingdom is loosely based on East Asia (mostly China and Korea) with reference to the hairsyles, architecture, geography, and relations to other countries.
Earth Kingdom architecture varies by province. Like the other nations, it is based on its elemental color, in this case, green. The majority of the buildings are made of stone, wood, and plaster; these may be used in conjunction with one another or separately, depending on the available resources. Most buildings have sloping roofs covered with dark gray or green tiles; yellow tiles denote wealth, and are used by aristocrats in Ba Sing Se. The Earth Kingdom insignia is often put on important buildings and fortresses as a symbol of the government. Roads vary considerably - in the country, they are usually made of well-worn dirt, while cities have well-made flagstone streets.
The population of the Earth Kingdom is among small villages, larger towns, and the capital city of Ba Sing Se, which contains a significant portion of its citizens. Tiny villages of ten or so inhabitants dot the landscape; larger towns, such as Chin and Gaoling, are found more infrequently. Because of Fire Nation assaults, many of the once great cities of the Earth Kingdom were either destroyed (as was Taku), or taken over (as was Omashu). Smaller towns are usually forced into slave labor by the Fire Nation, to mine coal and ores to build and fuel their warships. The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong and adhere to a philosophy of peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the other nations of the world. Earthbenders use their abilities for defense and industry and have fiercely defended their cities against attacks by the Fire Nation."
APPEARANCE
"Citizens of the Earth Kingdom tend to have black or brown hair, green (possible indicating Earthbending ability), brown, or gray eyes, and are often tanned, though the complexions of the nobility are often much lighter. Fashions in the Earth Kingdom vary greatly; in the West and South, men typically wear their hair in a topknot, ornamented with various holders and pins, and often have beards and/or mustaches or having there shorn without mustaches or beards. Women wear their hair down or piled on top of their head. In Ba Sing Se, women usually wear their long hair wrapped around a support, ornamented with tassels or flowers; men usually don a queue or shorn without mustaches or beards Omashu citizens typically wear tunics over a long robe or pants, with their hair hidden by a small turban or hat or shorn without mustaches or beards. Farmers and other laborers typically wear conical straw hats secured to the head by string or shorn without mustaches or beards .
Members of the army wear green and beige uniforms that may have yellow touches to them. Traditional colors worn throughout the kingdom range from vibrant greens and yellows to more muted beiges and browns, though outfits of other colors can be seen, especially in Ba Sing Se. Their clothing and architecture seem to reflect Chinese and Korean influences."
EARTHBENDING
"Earth is the element of substance, making Earthbenders and their people in general proud, persistent and enduring. The first Earthbenders, Oma and Shu, learned their art from the Badgermoles. The key to Earthbending is neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike, and when that moment comes, acting decisively. In other words Earthbenders generally endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself, then strike with unyielding force.
Earthbending is generally based on the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu, which features heavily rooted stances and strong kicks and punches that evoke the mass and power of earth. The martial art is based on the movements of animals, including the tiger, which is utilized when initiating hard blows, and the crane, which is used to land gently back on the Earth. There are exceptions to this rule - the blind Earthbender, Toph's, style is based on Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu (using its precise stepping to maintain contact with the ground for her to "see"). Earthbenders typically go barefoot, to increase their connection with the earth. Earthbending differs from the other bending arts in that it maintains a distinct balance between offensive and defensive capabilities (though water involves a more refined version by channeling defense into offense). Earthbending uses a balance of strength and defense to overwhelm opponents. The principle of Jing is the essence of battle strategy, with a total of 85 possible actions. Positive Jing occurs when one chooses to fight while negative Jing is when one chooses to evade. The Earthbending discipline stresses Neutral Jing, which involves listening, waiting, and attacking at the right moment. King Bumi stresses this in his tactics against the Fire Nation."