Chin


 * This article is about the conqueror, Chin the Great. For other uses, see Chin (disambiguation).

"earth"

- A horrible tyrant, Chin was expanding his army to all corners of the continent. When they came to the neck of the peninsula where we lived, he demanded our immediate surrender. I warned him that I would not sit passively while he took our home. But he did not back down.

Chin the Conqueror, also known as Chin the Great, was a ruthless warlord from the northwestern Earth Kingdom. During the life of Avatar Kyoshi, he launched a largely successful campaign against the Earth King before being indirectly killed by Kyoshi due to his stubornness and pride, in defense of her home.

History
Chin was remembered for being a highly capable and tyrannical leader who successfully took advantage of widespread dissatisfaction with the reign of the 46th Earth King in order to launch a military conquest of the Earth Kingdom. He launched the campaign from a small island in the northwestern part of the kingdom, unifying the Earth Kingdom under his control. Amassing a large and formidable army, he successfully managed to gain control of the entire continent, with the exceptions of Ba Sing Se and a small peninsula in the southwest, which Avatar Kyoshi called home. When Chin demanded that the inhabitants submit to his rule, Kyoshi defied his order. Chin then assumed an offensive position at the mouth of the peninsula, as his stubborn nature did not allow him to accept failure. Kyoshi acted in defense of her people by entering the Avatar State and splitting her village from the mainland, creating Kyoshi Island.

As the land mass parted with the mainland, the ground on which Chin stood became an unstable cliff over the ocean. In 270 BSC, Chin died when this ledge collapsed beneath him. Although it appeared so, he was not murdered by Kyoshi; his obstinance was the ultimate cause of his demise as he had sufficient time to move to a solid footing before his fatal fall to the ocean below.

Chin Village, located at the point where Kyoshi Island split from the mainland, was named in his honor. The locals still referred to Chin as a great hero, and a statue of him had been erected there in his honor. However, this statue would later be destroyed by the Rough Rhinos.

Trivia



 * The Chinese characters carved on the lower part of the statue in ancient Seal Script read 秦帝, which means "Emperor Chin". He is named and based on Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor of China who united the country and from whom China gets its English name.
 * Some people in the Earth Kingdom believed that Chin suffered from Napoleon Complex, and sought to conquer the Earth Kingdom simply to make up for his short stature.
 * Including Aang's fatal injury sustained in "The Crossroads of Destiny", from which he was resurrected shortly thereafter, Chin was the fourth of eight to have been observed dying or being murdered in the series. In chronological order the others were Tui, Yue, Zhao, Jet, Aang, Roku, and Combustion Man.