Zongdu

  

"A zongdu is like a modern-day Avatar. They serve others in their time, in an endlessly repeating cycle. They negotiate between international parties and need not be born of the country they work in."

— Sidao to Avatar Yangchen.

Zongdu was the title given to the leader of one of the four shang cities established by international charter in the wake of the Platinum Affair. They were officers responsible for solving problems in their cities on behalf of the shang merchants.

History

The position of zongdu was established after the Platinum Affair, after the shang system was engineered, with the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Water Tribes agreeing that Bin-Er, Jonduri, Port Tuugaq, and Taku would become the only cities in the world open to limited international trade. These cities were put under the purview of selected noble and merchant families, known as shangs, who chose a zongdu as their leader.

While many zongdu used their position to make more money for themselves, there were exceptions, such as Chaisee, one of the most competent zongdu since the system began. She turned Jonduri into the jewel of the shang cities. Aware of the precarious position the shang cities were in, being weak to the heads of state of the four nations, Chaisee engineered the Unanimity project with Zongdu Dooshim of Bin-Er.

Zongdu Henshe of Bin-Er, Dooshim's successor, hoped to use the Unanimity project in Bin-Er after Avatar Yangchen threatened to expose the shangs' breach of their charters to Earth King Feishan, though Chaisee refused to deploy Unanimity in Bin-Er. After Henshe visited her and threatened to have the Fire Lord remove her from office, she agreed to move it, though she did not intend to follow through. Knowing this, Henshe used his spy, Kalyaan, to steal Unanimity from Jonduri and bring the combustionbenders to Bin-Er. After Yangchen disarmed the combustionbenders in the middle of their display of power, the Avatar had Henshe confined to a room in the Northern Air Temple.

Position and powers

The role of zongdu varied between different cities and between different holders of office. Officially, they were responsible for solving issues within the shang cities and for collecting customs revenue for their respective nations. Some zongdu, such as Chaisee, took their role very seriously, holding an absolute grip over the shangs of her city and fully controlling the flow of intelligence within her city. Others, such as Henshe, had to work more closely with other leading shangs of their cities. Many zongdu saw their appointment as a scheme to make money for themselves, taking loans to bribe people to get into office, and then making so much money during their time as zongdu that they could repay the loans many times over. The title was only held for a short amount of time before stepping down and being replaced by someone else after a few years.

Appointment

In theory, the position of zongdu was an elected office, and was to people of all nations, no matter where their shang city was located. However, heads of state preferred their own subjects to be raised to zongdu in the cities that were formally located in their territory. In truth, zongdu were more appointed than elected, and candidates had to bribe people with huge amounts of money in order to gain the position.

List of zongdu

• Dooshim – Zongdu of Bin-Er
• Henshe – Zongdu of Bin-Er
• Chaisee – Zongdu of Jonduri
• Ashoona – Zongdu of Port Tuugaq
• Wonseok – Zongdu of Taku
• Iwashi – Zongdu of Taku

Trivia

• Zongdu (总督), often translated as "Viceroy" or "Governor-General", was a political position in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Unlike in Avatar, zongdu were not rulers of city-states, but large territories which could encompass several provinces.