Writing in the World of Avatar



Writing and Literature are an integral part of society across the World of Avatar. All four nations use a common system of characters borrowed from the Chinese system for daily purposes. The four nations primarily use writing for communication and literary purposes, but there are some who practise calligraphy, such as Piandao.

Writing Materials


Writing in Avatar World is achieved through several means. This is primarily through the use of brush, ink and paper, however, there are also engravements. The actual written language is Chinese, with thousands of characters made up of different kinds of strokes, and is usually written top down, right to left, though this is not always the case in the Avatar World.

Brush
The brush is the traditional writing implement in the World of Avatar. The body of the brush can be made from either bamboo or wood, or other rarer materials. The head of the brush can be made from the hair of a wide variety of animals.

Paper
Paper is used for scrolls, books, letters and memos. Paperweights are used to weigh down paper, and these are mostly of a plain, functional design.

Characters
Characters of Traditional Chinese origin are used for all writing in the Avatar World. There are tens of thousands of characters, but only a few thousand are adequate for day-to-day communication. There are several types of characters used in order to complete a sentence and thus be able to make text readable.


 * Pictograms - These characters are derived from stylised, simplified drawings of an object. This type of character is used to represent that object. Examples include 日 (rì) for "sun", 月 (yuè) for "moon".
 * Ideograms - Although not a direct derivative of pictures like pictograms, ideograms are related to them in that they are a stylised abstract representation of an idea. Direct examples include 上 shàng "up" and 下 xià "down". Notice that the character for up literally points up and the other literally points down.
 * Ideogrammic Compounds - These are created through combining elements of pictograms and ideograms to form another abstract representation of an idea or object. An example is that doubling the pictogram 木 mu "tree" produces 林 lin "forest". There are literally more trees. The existence of this category as an independent category is disputed in the real world.
 * Phono-semantic Compounds - The name is complex, but most characters fall under this category. It is impossible to be able to draw absolutely everything into a character, hence the existence and size of this category. These characters are usually made of two parts. One part is a small pictograph that gives a representation of the idea of the character, and the other, larger part is another character that gives an idea to the pronounciation of the character. For example, one of the characters for river is 河 (hé). The three strokes to the left are a stylisation of water, and the right part is the character 可 (ke).
 * There are a few more categories, but the above are enough to summarise the types of existing characters.

Calligraphy


Calligraphy is a form of art where one writes, or rather, draws or paints characters in a particularly artistic way to emphasise its beauty and shape. The paper, ink, brush, and inkstone are essential implements in calligraphy. A paperweight is also used to keep the paper straight and flat on the table, negating the need for one's hand to touch the clean paper. Only the highest quality types are used. It is unknown how widely calligraphy is practised, but Piandao has been seen teaching Sokka its basics.

Chinese Character Translations
In Mandarin, each character is one syllable. For example, Yue's name is pronounced Yuè, rather than "you-eh." The list here is of Traditional Chinese characters.

People
The format of this list of name translations is: Name - Hanzi/Kanji - Mandarin Pronunciation （in Hanyu Pinyin) - English translation

Main Characters

 * Aang: 安昂 - ān áng - Peaceful Soaring
 * Katara: 卡塔拉 - kǎ tǎ lā - probably phonetic, since the individual parts mean "block", "padoga" and "pull"
 * Sokka: 索卡 - suǒ kǎ - probably phonetic, since the individual parts mean "dull" or "ask" and "block"
 * Toph Bei Fong: 北方拓芙 - běi fāng tuò fú - surname means "North region" and name means "open up lotus". Note that in Chinese, surnames always come first.
 * Zuko: 蘇科 - sū kē - Resurrected Rule
 * Iroh: 艾洛 - ài luò - probably phonetic, since the first character means "Chinese mugwort" (a flower, which is not used to name males), and the second character is the name of a river in China.

Water Tribe

 * Yue: 月 - yuè - Moon

Earth Kingdom

 * Bumi: 布米 - bù mǐ - probably phonetic, since the individual parts mean "declare/announce" and "rice"
 * Chin: 秦帝 - qin di - Emperor Qin
 * Kyoshi: 京士 - jīng shì - the name is meaningless in Chinese, but in Japanese it is pronounced kyō shi and means advanced instructor
 * Oma: 奧瑪 - ào mǎ - Mysterious Carnelian
 * Pao: 包 - bāo - Probably phonetic, characters mean "to cover".
 * Shu: 舒 - shū - Relax
 * The Boulder: 大塊石 - dà kuài shí - Big Chunk of Stone
 * Xin Fu: 辛富 - xīn fù - Bitter Rich
 * Yu: 余 - yú - Surplus (Chinese surname)

Fire Nation

 * Chey: 澈- chè - Clear (as in water); Thorough
 * Dragon of the West (Iroh): 平西巨龍 - The Great Dragon of Sunset
 * Jeong Jeong: 琤琤 - chēng chēng - The Sound of Tinkling Gems
 * The Blue Spirit (Zuko): 藍神 - lán shén - Blue Spirit
 * Tom-Tom: 湯湯 - tāng tāng - probably phonetic, characters mean "soup"

Spirits

 * Tui 月神 - yue shen - Moon Spirit
 * La 海神 - hai shen - Ocean Spirit

Bending
The format of this list of location translations is: Bending Art: Hanzi/Kanji - Mandarin Pronunciation （in Hanyu Pinyin) - English translation.


 * Airbending: 截氣神功 - jie qi shen gong - Divine Ability to Halt Air
 * Waterbending: 截水神功 - jie shui shen gong - Divine Ability to Halt Water
 * Earthbending: 運土術 - yun tu shu - Ability to Move Earth
 * Firebending: 制火術 - zhi huo shu - Ability to Make Fire

It is unknown how Energybending is written.

Place and Tribe Names
The format of this list of location translations is: Location: Hanzi/Kanji - Mandarin Pronunciation （in Hanyu Pinyin) - English translation.

Water Tribe

 * Northern Water Tribe 北方水族 - Northern Water Tribe
 * Southern Water Tribe 南方水族 - Southern Water Tribe
 * Omashu: 奥瑪舒城 - ào mǎ shū chéng - transliteration of word "Omashu"
 * Pao Family Tea House: 包氏茶館 - bāo shì chá guǎn - Bao Clan Teahouse

Earth Kingdom

 * Ba Sing Se: 永固城 - yǒng gù chéng - Eternally Solid City
 * Ba Sing Se University: 永固城大學 - yǒng gù chéng da xue - Eternally Solid City University
 * Chameleon Bay: 變色龍灣 - biàn sè lóng wān - Chameleon Bay
 * Earth Kingdom: 土國 - tu guo - Earth Kingdom
 * Full Moon Bay: 滿月灣 - mǎn yuè wān - Full Moon Bay
 * Gan Jin: 干净 - gān jìng - Clean
 * Gaoling: 高陵 - gao ling - High Hill
 * Jasmine Dragon: 茉莉龍 - mò lì lóng - Jasmine Dragon
 * Nan Shan River: 南山川 - nán shān chuān - Southern Mountain River
 * Pao Family Tea House: 包氏茶館 - Pao Family Tea House
 * Senlin Village: 森林村 - sēn lín cun - Forest Village, or Village in a Forest
 * Serpent's Pass: 盤蛇關 - pán shé guān - Coiled Snake Pass
 * Si Wong Desert: 死亡沙漠 - sǐ wáng sha muo - (No exact translation) Death Desert, Desert of Death
 * Wan Shi Tong's Library: 萬知堂神祕圖書館 - wàn zhī táng shén mì tú shū guǎn - Wan Zhitang Mysterious Library ("Wan Zhitang" further translates to "10,000 Knowledge Hall")
 * Whale Tail Island: 境遇尾巴岛 - jīng yu wei ba dǎo - Whale Tail Island
 * Zhang: 脏 - zāng - Dirty

Fire Nation

 * Crescent Island: 新月岛 - xīn yuè dǎo - New Moon Island
 * Fire Nation: 火國 - huǒ guó - Fire Nation

Warriors of Kyoshi

 * The fan the statue of Kyoshi holds to her dress is inscribed with the character 京 (jīng, kyō in Japanese), which means 'capital'. This character also appears on the sleeves of the Kyoshi Warrior's uniform. The fan in Kyoshi's outstretched hand carries the character 士 (shì), meaning warrior.
 * Unagi (鰻) is the Japanese word for freshwater eel.

Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World

 * The circles on the floor of Roku's Sanctuary contain the characters for various celestial events; 春分 (chūn fēn), the Spring Equinox, 夏至 (xià zhì), the Summer Solstice, 秋分 (qiū fēn), the Autumn Equinox, and 冬至 (dōng zhì), the Winter Solstice. These are all part of the traditional east Asian calendar.

The Waterbending Scroll

 * The left side of the scroll says 截水神功練習第一式, which can be translated as 'waterbending drill first form.' The right side says 水單鞭 , which translate as 'water single whip.' Since the term 'waterbending' is not a real word in Chinese, the phrase ( 截水神功 ) that creators of the series use for it literally translates as 'cut off water divine ability.'
 * The "single whip form" is a form of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the style on which waterbending is based.

The Great Divide

 * Since both sides can agree that the Gan Jin's forefather, Jin Wei, was supposed to deliver the sacred orb, his name could be written as 解衛 (jiè wèi) which translates as 'to transport under guard.' Since no one can agree whether Zhang's forefather, Wei Jin, was there to help or steal, his name could be written as 偉解 (wěi jiě) which translates as 'great divide.'

The Fortuneteller

 * The calligraphy on the screen in Aunt Wu's parlor is written in Cao Shu (grass script style), a freehand form which is notoriously difficult to read.
 * The sign against which Sokka kicks a rock has the character 福 (fú) on it, which ironically meaning "good fortune and happiness" (the opposite of his prediction).

Bato of the Water Tribe

 * The map to the rendezvous point has the characters 海月讚佑 written on the top, which roughly translates as "The Blessing and Protection of the Sea and Moon".

The Deserter

 * The heading of the Fire Days Poster reads 慶祝烈火節, meaning "Celebrate the Fire Festival!" The first sub-heading reads 傳統烈火國美味食品, meaning "Traditional Fire Nation cuisine".
 * Aang's wanted poster reads as follows:
 * 捉拿 - 降世神通
 * 該逃犯身褱截气神功
 * 能制起旋風飛遁如風
 * 補者慎之慎
 * 烈火君令
 * ''Wanted - The Avatar. This fugitive knows airbending, can create whirlwinds :and flee like the wind. Hunters be extremely cautious! By decree of the Fire Lord.




 * Jeong Jeong's wanted poster reads as follows:
 * 捉拿 - 琤琤
 * 前烈火國艦長
 * 年六十．白髮．
 * 貌似柔順實長制火術
 * 補者慎之
 * ''Wanted - Jeong Jeong. Former Fire Nation Admiral. Age 60; white-haired. Appears obedient; is actually a master in Firebending. Hunters be cautious.


 * Chey's wanted poster, though extremely blurry, can be pieced together from contextual clues and a second appearance in The Desert. It seems to read as follows.
 * 捉拿 - 澈
 * 前烈火軍隊伍長及逃兵
 * 披賎年二十
 * 善上場爆破得神不?
 * 補者慎之
 * ''Wanted - Chey. Former corporal in the Fire Nation army and deserter. Dresses inexpensively; aged 20. Good theatric explosives (make him look like?) a spirit, but ... Hunters be cautious.


 * The wanted poster for the Blue Spirit seems to read:
 * 捉拿 - 藍神
 * 动持降世神通
 * 頭戴藍色土國面具????
 * 外傳?鬼之?不足信
 * 如?得行?須全刀似?
 * ''Wanted - The Blue Spirit. (Rescued?) the Avatar. Wears a blue Earth Kingdom mask on his head. Foreign ..ghost of..
 * Note: The rest of the poster is to blurry to read.


 * The Fire Lord's Seal found on all the wanted posters reads 烈火國王敖載印寶, meaning "Fire Lord Ozai's Official Seal."

The Siege of the North, Part 2

 * The scroll which Zhao finds in the library reads, in ancient Chinese calligraphy, 月神海神 and 北方水族, meaning "Moon Spirit and Ocean Spirit" and "Northern Water Tribe".

The Avatar State

 * Iroh & Zuko's wanted poster reads as follows:
 * 承烈火君命輯捕艾洛祖寇二叛賊
 * 艾洛将軍曾為平西巨龍
 * 祖寇王子曾為大帝儲君
 * 二賊違反帝國令拒絕征剿水族蛮子及捉拿降世神通
 * 格殺匆論
 * ''The Fire Lord orders the arrest of Iroh and Zuko, the two rebellious traitors. General Iroh was once the Dragon of the West; Prince Zuko was heir to his Imperial Majesty. Both traitors violated imperial orders to annihilate the Water Tribe barbarians as well as capture the Avatar. Wanted dead or alive.
 * Note: Zuko's name is written here as 祖寇 (zǔ kòu), which means something along the lines of "ancestor robber".


 * The writing on Zuko's knife reads 非戰不屈, which means "Never give up without a fight".

The Cave of Two Lovers

 * The sign over the entrance to the cave reads, in ancient Chinese script, 情人洞, meaning "Cave of the Lovers".
 * The sign over the door in Song's clinic reads 醫 (yī), meaning "Doctor".
 * The first panel of the Lover's story reads, in ancient Chinese script, 男女相隔二地 and 會于此峰, which means approximately "The man and woman (Oma and Shu) were separated by two areas; they will meet at this mountain."
 * The character that appears when Katara reads about the war between the Lover's villages reads 戰 (zhàn), meaning "War".
 * The final panel of the Lover's story reads, in ancient Chinese script, 奧瑪舒城 永志恋情, which means approximately "Omashu City, to forever remember their love."
 * The Lover's names, Oma and Shu, are written as 奧瑪 (ào mǎ) and 舒 (shū) respectively; 奧瑪 means "mysterious carnelian", while 舒 means "relax".
 * The calligraphy on the relief of the Two Lovers seems to read 愛在黑暗?光明, which means something along the lines of "Love is brightest in the dark."

Return to Omashu

 * The governor's ransom letter reads as follows:
 * 懦弱之拐人
 * 我愿以你卑賤的布米王換取我兒子湯湯安全
 * 正午會於城巔石像下交換
 * ''Cowardly kidnapper, I agree to exchange your lowly King Bumi for my son's safety. The exchange will take place precisely at noon tomorrow at the base of the City's summit rock statue.

The Swamp

 * The sign on the cart which passes Iroh and Zuko reads 快樂浪人歌劇團, meaning "Happy Traveler's Opera Troupe".

Avatar Day

 * A lantern during the scene where the gang is watching the parade has the character 酒 on it, meaning "Wine".
 * The ancient Chinese scripts carved on the lower part of the statue is 秦帝, which means "Chin - The King". He is named after Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, which is the derivation of the English name of the country.
 * The writing on the "Birth of Kyoshi" painting reads 降世神通虛子今日拓創虛子島 愿吾民文化永絕於世界暴政, which roughly translates as "On this day, Avatar Kyoshi splits from the mainland and creates Kyoshi Island. Hope our citizens' culture will be isolated from the tyranny of the world forever."

The Blind Bandit

 * The advertisement for Master Yu's Academy reads as follows
 * 余師傅運土術武館全國最佳
 * 包教會
 * 特兴傅單第一課免費僅須購買高級制服
 * Master Yu's Earthbending Academy is the best school in the entire country. Guaranteed everything taught will be learned. Special promotion - first lesson is free. You only need to purchase a high-quality uniform.


 * The sign over the entrance to Master Yu's school reads 余師傅著名運土術武館, meaning "Master Yu's Famous Earthbending Academy".
 * Toph's ransom note reads as follows:
 * ?見你女兒有生一?
 * 五百金條至兢技場
 * 大塊石辛富
 * ''If you wish to see your daughter alive, (bring) 500 gold bars to the arena. (Signed) The Boulder & Xin Fu.

The Library

 * The writing on Professor Zei's map reads 萬知堂神祕圖書館, meaning "Wan Shi Tong's Mysterious Library". Wan Shi Tong (萬知堂, wàn zhī táng) means "He Who Knows 10.000 Things".
 * The parchment documenting the Fire Nation's Darkest Day reads 培治龍年七月九日烈火國最黑暗的一天, which means "The 9th day of the 8th month of the Cultivate Rule Dragon Year was the darkest day in Fire Nation history."
 * The Chinese characters around the calendar wheel read as follows:
 * 1. 氜武 - Superior military (rì wǔ)
 * 2. 淳泰 - Honest and exalted (zhūn tài)
 * 3. 坧元 - (Stone?) beginning (zhī yuán)
 * 4. 烱裕 - Bright abundant (jiǒng yù)
 * 5. 氜隆 - Bright prosperity (rì lóng)
 * 6. 溢文 - Overflowing culture (yì wén)
 * 7. 培治 - Cultivate rule (péi zhì)
 * 8. 昆德 - Virtuous descendants (kūn dé)
 * 9. 氲貞 - Virtuous harmony (yūn zhēn)
 * 10. 湡明 - (?) Brightness (yú míng)
 * 11. 堯平 - Peace of Emperor Yao (yáo píng)
 * 12. 煬崇 - Burning honor (yáng chóng)
 * 13. ?安 - (?) Peace - (? ān)
 * 14. 渾順 - Clouded obedience (hún shùn)
 * 15. 坦正 - Calm righteousness (tǎn zhèng)
 * 16. 焯光 - (Burning?) light (zhuó guāng)
 * Note: These symbols may be a form of era name, though unlike those used by the Chinese and Japanese, it would seem they repeat.
 * Note: These definitions are very loosely based on the characters, as many of the combinations are difficult to understand. Some of the characters are no longer used in modern Chinese.


 * The date of the Day of Black Sun is set on the dial as "the 1st day of the 8th month of the Superior Military Monkey Year" (氜武猴年八月一日). This could translate to August 1st in the Gregorian Calendar. However, if the world of Avatar uses the Chinese lunar calendar, the date would fall sometime in mid to late August or September.

The Serpent's Pass

 * The sign at the entrance of the Serpent's Pass reads 盤蛇關, meaning "Coiling Serpent Mountain Pass". The graffiti reads 絕望, meaning "despair" (lit. "Sever hope").

The Drill

 * The banner in the Ba Sing Se customs office reads 歡迎光臨永固城, meaning "Welcome to Ba Sing Se".
 * The plaque on the slurry pipeline reads 泥漿管道, meaning "Slurry pipeline".

City of Walls and Secrets

 * The invitations to the Earth King's party have 南大門 written on them, meaning "South Gate".

Tales of Ba Sing Se

 * The characters before each story read, in order, 卡塔拉與托夫的故事 (Katara and Toph's tale), 安昂的故事 (Aang's tale), 索卡的故事 (Sokka's tale), 艾洛的故事 (Iroh's tale), 蘇科的故事 (Zuko's tale), and 模模的故事 (Momo's tale). In the title card for "The Tale of Toph and Katara", the Chinese translation puts Katara's name before Toph's. Toph's name is also written differently in the titlecard than on her passport from "The Serpent's Pass" and the letter from her mother in "The Earth King". Zuko's name is also different; In "The Desert", Zuko's name was listed on a Fire Nation wanted poster in Chinese as "祖寇" (zǔ kòu), while here his name is written as "蘇科" (sū kè). The character 蘇 (sū) is also used in Fire Lord Sozin's name.
 * The sign on the spa which Katara and Toph visit reads"貴婦美容院", which translates as "Noble Lady's Beauty Parlor".
 * The Chinese characters on Lu Ten's picture (艾洛将軍得勝再見忠心的兒子路騰), when read in the traditional right and vertical way, roughly translate as "General Iroh, I will see you again when victory is obtained. Your loyal son, Lu Ten." '路騰' (lù téng) means "road to gallop over."
 * The sign in front of the zoo Aang visits reads '快樂動物園', which translates as "Joyous Zoo".
 * The sign outside of the hall in "The Tale of Sokka" reads '五七五會社', which translates as "Five-Seven-Five Society".

Lake Laogai (Episode)

 * Appa's wanted poster reads as follows:
 * 尋飛天野牛
 * 名阿柏有六足重十噸
 * 如有消息請聯絡
 * 降世神通安昂
 * 上環九十六區第二百一十七棟
 * ''Searching for a flying Sky Bison. Name: Appa. Has 6 legs and weighs 10 tons. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact Avatar Aang, 217th house, 96th District, Upper Ring.
 * Note: Aang's house number, 217, is also the production code for the episode.

The Guru

 * The characters on the sign inside the teashop (寧三天不食莫一日無茶) read a traditional Chinese proverb: "It is better to go for three days without food than one day without tea".

The Avatar and the Fire Lord

 * The characters on the scroll Zuko receives read 你須知道曾祖死它曾顯示你的命運, and mean approximately what he says; the hidden message, 烈火國諸賢秘史藏於龍骨墓窟中, also means approximately what he says.
 * The characters on the first box containing Sozin's history read 烈火君蘇進遺書完稿, which means "The Last Testament of Fire Lord Sozin". The second box reads 烈火君蘇進遺書稿之, which means approximately the same thing. Sozin's name is here written as 蘇進 (sū jìn) which means "resurrection enters".
 * The last characters on his scroll, though mostly obscured, can be deduced. They read 威脅 - 截氣神功師, which means something along the line of "threat - Airbender. The term "Airbender" can be seen on Aang's season 1 wanted poster.

The Runaway

 * Toph's wanted poster reads as follows:
 * 捉拿逃犯
 * 當局懸賞一千金幣緝捕十二歲女童
 * 她喬裝盲人個子雖小
 * 雖小極之危險
 * 報訊即賞
 * Wanted - The Runaway. Authorites are offering a reward of 1000 gold coins for the arrest of this 12 year old girl. She disguises herself as a blind person, and although she is small, she is extremely dangerous. Any information will be promptly rewarded.


 * The messenger hawk advert reads as follows
 * 傳訊鳥訓練班
 * 日出時於郵政局集合
 * 每課三銅板
 * ''Messenger Bird Training Class. Meets at sunrise at the post office. Each lesson is three copper pieces.


 * The poster before Toph's wanted poster reads 火 - 緝拿, meaning Fire - Arrests. It probably signals the start of the wanted posters section.
 * The poster on the far right of the billboard reads 今晚街坊會議主題 : 空氣質量 街頭聚賭, meaning Topics for this evening's street conference: Air quality and street gambling.
 * The poster with two dragons entwined in a heart reads 餘燼島劇院, meaning "Ember Island Theater". It is a reference to The Ember Island Players, and is most likely a poster for "Love Among the Dragons" (which Zuko says he used to see every year with his mother).

The Ember Island Players

 * The top of the plays poster reads its title in Chinese: 冰山上的男孩, meaning "The Boy in the Iceberg".
 * The poster for "The Boy in the Iceberg" reads as follows:
 * 冰山上的男孩
 * 土國著名劇作家浦安添新作搜集全球有関降世神通資料由南極冰山全土國首都
 * 資料来自牧民歌手海盜戰犯知菜販
 * 由餘燼島演員主演
 * ''The Boy in the Iceberg: A new production from acclaimed Earth Kingdom playwright Pu-on Tim, who collected data concerning the Avatar from around the globe - from the icebergs of the South Pole to the Earth Kingdom capital. Information came from nomad singers, pirates, prisoners of war and a knowledgeable merchant of cabbage. Starring the Ember Island Players.
 * Note: Oddly, when Sokka reads the poster aloud, he does not reverse the order of Pu On-tim's family and given names, as he does with Toph's.


 * The sign over the stage reads 餘燼島劇院, meaning "Ember Island Theater".

Literature


There are many books and scrolls in the Avatar World. Many of these are located, or have a copy at Wan Shi Tong's Library.

List of Known Works

 * Waterbending Scroll -
 * Book of Clouds -
 * Star Chart -
 * Sozin's Final Testament -

Trivia

 * The set of Chinese characters used in Avatar is the Traditional set, used in many Asian countries. This is opposed to the Simplified set, which is used in China and Singapore.
 * Readers should note that contrary to popular belief, most Chinese characters are not stylised representations of pictures, that is, most characters are not pictograms.