Elements

Avatar draws on the four classical elements common to most ancient philosophies (rather than the five classical Chinese elements) for its bending arts: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Although each has its own variation, most ancient philosophies incorporate these four elements in some way: examples include the classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Greek elemental traditions.

In the show’s opening, each element is accompanied by two Chinese characters: an ancient Chinese seal script character on the left, and a modern Chinese character on the right:

• Water (Chinese: 水; pinyin: shui) is associated with benevolence and adaptivity (Chinese: 善; pinyin: shan).

• Earth (Chinese: 土; pinyin: tu) is associated with strength and stability (Chinese: 強; pinyin: qiang).

• Fire (Chinese: 火; pinyin: huo) is associated with intensity and passion (Chinese: 烈; pinyin: lie)

• Air (Chinese: 气; pinyin: qi) is associated with peace and harmony (Chinese: 和; pinyin: he).[33]