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| By KendixPL | See other fanon and fan fiction works from KendixPL. |
| "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." |
| — Avatar Kyoshi to the people of Chin Village. |
Chin, referred to as Chin the Conqueror, known in Chin Village and Qinchao Village as Chin the Great and Emperor Chin, born Chengji, was the head of Chin clan, marquis of Qinchao Village, a earthbending master, and a warlord who aimed to overthrow the 46th Earth King and launched a largely successful conquest of the Earth Kingdom. An extremely stubborn and proud man, Chin fell to his death when he refused to back down as Avatar Kyoshi separated her village from the mainland and formed Kyoshi Island. To this day he is considered both a cruel tyrant, dictator and usurper, and a military genius, glorious strategist and liberator from tyranny.
History[]
Early life and conquest of the Earth Kingdom[]
Chin was born in 321 BG as Chengji of the Chin clan. During his early life, the Earth Kingdom was destabilized by the Yellow Neck Uprising, led by Xu Ping An, and the rise of large-scale banditry by daofei groups, which climaxed in 296 BG with the poisoning of much of the western Earth Kingdom's elite as well as the murder of the country's de facto regent Jianzhu by Yun. He witnessed the destruction of the Yujing's Tea House and, like the entire village, believed Kyoshi was to blame.
Even as a child, his father, Chin, had hoped that Chengji would become the next Chin, and when he demonstrated his earthbending skills, his father was overjoyed. Unlike the rest of the village, Chengji showed no fear of the Yellow Necks. His teachers considered him both intelligent and stubborn, which they considered both a virtue and a vice.
Chengji in 287 BG became the new marquis of Qinchao Village and head of the Chin clan, taking the name Chin. With the perennial insurgent activities in the nation and the growing unpopularity of the 46th Earth King, Chin traveled to the northwestern Earth Kingdom in 280 BG and began his rebellion on Panluan Island. With each new territory he conquered and settlement he conquered, his army grew larger and larger, with more soldiers pledging their allegiance to him. As his rebellion began to spiral further out of control, the Earth King ordered his generals to deal with Chin.
Chin had many victories over the Earth Kingdom Army during the ten years of war. His greatest victory was the second battle of Llamapaca's Crossing. In this battle, the Earth King ordered General Ran-Roe to repeat Feishan's victory over Nong from two centuries earlier. Chin effectively exploited all of the enemy's weaknesses and crushed Ran-Roe's forces, and then the Earth King barricaded himself in the capital. Chin left his commanders in the conquered territories as governors of his territories, one of whom was Khoja, a Si Wong tribesman from the Mu Us Tribe, who became the governor of the Si Wong Desert.
When Chin occupied Qinchao Village with his troops in late 271 BG, which was then ruled by his cousin, whom he had appointed as temporary regent in 280 BG, he was welcomed there as a hero and statesman. The villagers cheered him on, and the entire day in the village was spent in a festival to Chin's glory.
Final duel and death[]
By 270 BG, Chin controlled almost all of the Earth Kingdom, except for Ba Sing Se and the Yokoya peninsula. After conquering both, Chin intended to establish a new Chin dynasty, create the Earth Empire, and then subjugate the Foggy Swamp Tribe, as well as conquer the Northern Air Temple and Jasmine Island. As early as 273 BG, Chin gave himself the title of emperor, which he planned to transform into "Earth Emperor". Ultimately, Chin decided to take Yokoya first, as he expected he would be forced to hold Ba Sing Se, which would not be easy.
Chin challenged Avatar Kyoshi to a duel when she stood in his way of conquering the Yokoya peninsula.
Chin and his army approached Yokoya, determined to conquer it by any means necessary. Upon being opposed by Avatar Kyoshi, he demanded the immediate surrender of her and the inhabitants of the neck of the peninsula. Although she warned him that she would not sit passively while he took her home, Chin disregarded her threat and assumed an offensive position at the mouth of the peninsula, as his stubborn nature did not allow him to accept failure. Kyoshi answered his bravado by stripping him of all his clothes save for his underwear with her airbending, though Chin remained unfazed and held his position. Even when Kyoshi entered the Avatar State and split Yokoya from the mainland, effectively creating Kyoshi Island, Chin held his position at the newly formed cliff. As the landmass parted with the mainland, however, the ground on which he stood became unstable and began to crumble. Although he had sufficient time to move back to safety, Chin stubbornly refused to take a few steps back to safety and eventually fell to his death when the cliff collapsed beneath him. Chin died, and in an instant his empire began to collapse.
Legacy[]
Chin's legacy was honored with a statue in Chin Village.
In the aftermath of the Chin's conquest, which had already conclusively proven the incompetence of the 46th Earth King, broke out Peasant Uprising in Ba Sing Se, reflecting massive unrest in the Earth Kingdom at least somewhat attributable to dissatisfaction with the 46th Earth King's rule. The power of the Earth King began to decline, a development that ultimately made both the Conspiracy of Ba Sing Se as well as the successes of the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War possible.
After his death, a village of his followers was named Chin Village in his honor. He remained immortalized in the village as a great hero over 370 years following his death and a statue in his likeness was erected, which was destroyed by the Rough Rhinos in 100 AG.
Personality[]
Chin screamed in frustration after Avatar Kyoshi separated her peninsula from the Earth Kingdom mainland and formed Kyoshi Island.
Chin was a highly controversial leader, as even 370 years after his death, there was still considerable debate regarding his righteousness and heroism. While those who opposed his actions refer to him as a "horrible tyrant", advocates of his conquest idolize him as a "glorious leader".
Chin's actions were often cruel and evocative, reflected by one instance in which he attacked an emissary with his earthbending merely to demonstrate his power. Nevertheless, he was able to amass an army that numbered in the thousands to conquer the Earth Kingdom. Chin's hubris helped him occupy most of the Earth Kingdom mainland, but effectively led to his demise. His overconfidence in facing Avatar Kyoshi by himself and unwillingness to back down following defeat led him to fall off an unstable cliff after Kyoshi separated her peninsula from the continent.
Trivia[]
- His original name Chengji (成吉) is the Chinese version of the word "Genghis", part of Temüjin's title "Genghis Khan".
- "Chin the Conqueror" is written as 秦征服者, "Chin the Great" is written as 大秦, and "Emperor Chin" is written as 秦帝.
- The Chinese characters carved on the lower part of the statue in ancient Seal Script read 秦帝, which means "Emperor Chin". His name bears a strong resemblance to Qin Shi Huangdi (秦始皇帝), the first Emperor of China whose reign was characterized by expansion of the Chinese state.
- In Mandarin Chinese, the "Q" in "Qin" is pronounced like the English sound "Ch", which explains why Chin is spelled with a "Ch" instead of "Q". This spelling is also more similar to the name according to the older Wade–Giles form of Chinese romanization, which would be "Ch'in".
- Additionally, Chin shares some traits with Xiang Yu, the powerful warlord who overthrew the Qin dynasty. Known for his brutality and cruelty, Xiang Yu is regarded as "the Conqueror" in Chinese culture and is considered to have eventually been defeated due to his lack of humility and excess of pride.
- The design of Chin's armor resembles that of Song and Ming Dynasty armors, commonly worn by generals and commanders. His hat, called a Tong Tian Guan, is often worn by the highest-ranking military officer.
- Some people believed that Chin sought to conquer the Earth Kingdom simply to compensate for his short stature, a phenomenon known as the Napoleon complex.
- Napoleon and Chin both hailed from territories located in the periphery of their eventual empires.
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Painting of Chin being defeated in battle by Kyoshi, seen in the episode "Warriors" of the Netflix adaptation.
- According to Avatar Kyoshi, Chin's death brought "a great era of peace". However, even though there was no open warfare for the next 233 years, Chin's death did cause the violent Peasant Uprising in Ba Sing Se and a time of civil unrest in the Earth Kingdom.
- Chin is referenced in a painting seen during the episode "Warriors" of the Netflix adaptation of Avatar, where he and his army are depicted as being defeated in battle by Kyoshi. Chin is shown being hit by mixture of all four elements and his face contorted in pain, indicating that the Avatar outright killed him in the Netflix continuity.
| Preceded by Unknown, eventually Chin the Founder |
Marquis of Qinchao Village and Head of Chin clan 287 BG – 270 BG |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Bang |
Emperor of the Earth Kingdom 273 BG – 270 BG |
Succeeded by Bang |
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