What major events did Yangchen confront during her life?
During Yangchen's childhood, the Platinum Affair occurred, which led to a period of isolationism between the four nations. After becoming a fully realized Avatar, she confronted the spirit General Old Iron in Tienhaishi, and reached an agreement with him that led to the city being abandoned. Later, Yangchen tried to fight against the corruption in the shang cities. This led to her uncovering the Unanimity project, a plot where the shang merchants planned to use combustionbenders as human weapons in order to gain leverage over the world leaders. She confronted the combustionbenders in Bin-Er, but one of them, Thapa, escaped with the aid of Zongdu Chaisee's agent, Kalyaan. Chaisee planned to unleash the Unanimity project to assassinate the world leaders, but the plot came to an end with Thapa's death in Taku. She brokered several agreements between spirits and humans in her later life, and also signed a treaty with the leader of the Fifth Nation.
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How did isolationism and the shang system affect Yangchen's role as the Avatar?
The isolationism in the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nations, and the Water Tribes significantly impacted Yangchen's role as the Avatar. Despite her spirituality and her mastery of the elements, she was initially inexperienced in dealing with the complex political dynamics of the four nations. However, she came to adapt her approach after resettling refugees from Tienhaishi, and came to use manipulation, espionage, and deceit to her advantage. She also took up the role of administering Bin-Er in lieu of Zongdu Henshe, and justified this by telling Earth King Feishan that Avatar Szeto would be making most decisions. After she exposed the scale of the Unanimity project to the Earth King, she asked to administer all four shang cities, hoping to control all the reins of power in order to properly let them go.
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What was Yangchen's approach to her Avatar duties?
Yangchen was pragmatic for an Avatar, especially for an Air Nomad. Despite the Air Nomads teachings that one must detach from the world in order to receive enlightenment, Yangchen believed that this did not apply to the Avatar, given their duty to the world. Examples of her pragmatism include her dealings with corrupt shang merchants, as well as her willingness to use espionage to prevent bloodshed. She also played an ambiguous role in the death of the combustionbender Thapa, and noted that it was possible to say that she had killed him during their confrontation in Taku. In spite of this, most people only knew of Yangchen's public successes, such as her healing of the sick, and her charity in the shang cities. This led to her being a revered and respected figure in both life and death.
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What role does Yangchen play in "Avatar: The Last Airbender"?
In "Avatar: The Last Airbender", Yangchen's only speaking role is in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters". Aang seeks advice from Yangchen, as he hopes that an Air Nomad Avatar will understand his reservations about taking Fire Lord Ozai's life. Yangchen tells Aang that unlike many great and wise Air Nomads, the Avatar can never detach themselves from the world in order to receive spiritual enlightenment, because their sole duty is to the world. She advises him that selfless duty calls for Aang to sacrifice his own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world.
Avatar Yangchen was the last Avatar incarnate born out of the Air Nomads before Aang. Yangchen was a very wise Avatar, during her brief meeting with Aang, she convinced Aang not to feel so guilty, seeing that previous Avatars also struggled and made mistakes. Yangchen also imparted with Aang the purpose behind why the Avatar is born human: the Avatar must be compassionate to all people, and the only way of doing so is living among them. If the Avatar was some all-powerful spirit living at the top of a mountain, he wouldn't have anything in common with ordinary people. She acknowledges that the Avatar must experience human life and emotions, such as sadness, anger, joy and happiness, the Avatar must learn how precious human life is so he will see why he must do anything to protect it, and that with every incarnation, the Avatar Spirit comes closer to fully comprehending what it truly means to be human. By the end of the meeting, Aang learns that the Avatar Spirit has been healed, although his ability to enter the Avatar State has been disrupted, so he'll now have to rely on his friends rather than his past lives. Avatar Yangchen bids him farewell, saying that his journey in the Spirit World, reconnecting with his past lives will be like a forgotten dream.
When abruptly asked for name of the female Airbender Avatar at the Pacific Media Expo, Bryan Konietzko (jokingly) dubbed her "Avatar Susan", indicating that they intially didn't plan on developing the previous Avatars aside from the two already introduced.
