| "Through all the long night / winter moon glows with bright love / sleet her silver tears." |
| — A haiku composed by a Five-Seven-Five Society member.[1] |
The Five-Seven-Five Society was an organization of young women who specialized in the art of poetry, with a focus on traditional haiku. Taught by the strict and disciplined Madame Macmu-Ling, only the wealthy young ladies of the upper echelon of families in Ba Sing Se were allowed to join the group. The society even had a guard who expelled those unworthy of the art. This organization had poetry meetings, during which haiku were recited by each member. In addition to practicing haiku, the girls also enjoyed tea parties, garden parties, and parties in general.[2]
The society met in a fairly small building,[1] located close to various other education and arts institutes such as the Autumn Wind Academy and the Fragrant Blossoms Institute, the latter also led by Macmu-Ling.[3]
History[]
One day in spring 100 AG, the Five-Seven-Five Society's usual activities were disrupted by an intruder. While listening through a window to members of the society reciting poetry, Sokka was accidentally kicked through the window and onto the stage by an unruly ostrich horse. He apologized to the ladies present, accidentally speaking in haiku form, which impressed the young ladies but irritated Macmu-Ling. Sokka further impressed the group by continuing to speak in haiku form, albeit not particularly eloquently, eventually outperforming Madame Macmu-Ling herself. Becoming overconfident, Sokka added one final haiku at the end as an encore but mistakenly added a sixth syllable to the final line. The members of the society glared at him in silence, and he was promptly thrown out of the building by a guard.[1]
Trivia[]
- Jin walked by the Five-Seven-Five Society's building during her first visit to Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring. She wondered about the society's activities, considering the name "mysterious".[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Estoesta, Joann, Wahlander, Lisa, Huebner, Andrew, Scheppke, Gary, MacMullan, Lauren, Mattila, Katie, Ridge, Justin, Volpe, Giancarlo (writers) & Spaulding, Ethan (director). (September 29, 2006). "The Tales of Ba Sing Se". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 15. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Character: Elegant Young Lady.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lin, Judy I. (author). (July 22, 2025). Chapter Twelve. City of Echoes. Amulet Books.
