Avatar Yangchen is such a complicated character and I really enjoyed getting to know this character in more detail through the two Yangchen novels written by F.C. Yee.
The narrative F.C. Yee crafted for Avatar Yangchen adds a new layer of depth to the advice Yangchen had to offer to a young Avatar Aang towards the end of Book 3 of Avatar the Last Airbender
“Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves and achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar can never do it, because your sole duty is to the world. Here is my wisdom for you. Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world.”
Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters S3:E19
Yangchen is a powerful Avatar, who as all Avatars, is tasked with not only keeping the world in balance, but also burdened by the legacy of her past life. At the start of Yangchen’s era, the balance of the four nations is disrupted. Her predecessor, Avatar Szeto spent his years as the Avatar focused on his home nation, the Fire Nation. He accomplished many great things in the Fire Nation, and saved his nation from an economic collapse, but his neglect of the other four nations lead to destabilization in the Earth Kingdom, the ramifications of which shook the whole world.
During Yangchens youth, before she was ready to take on the responsibilities of the mantle of Avatar, the Platinum Affair occurred. The Water Tribe Chiefs and Firelord had meddled in the war between Earth King Feishan and General Nong. They backed the wrong ostrich-horse so to say, and when King Feishan proved victorious, he took the financing of his enemy by the foreign leaders as an unforgivable insult, and halted all trade with other nations, ushering in an era of isolation.
When Yangchen entered the world stage as the Avatar, she was responsible for negotiating with the heads of state on behalf of the people these isolationist policies were impacting. Four trade cities had been authorized by the leaders of the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, and within these cities the common people were taken advantage of, as the noble families and merchants in these cities refused to properly pay workers, and allowed living conditions to worsen. Residents of these cities were unable to travel which only compounded the problems within these cities.
Yangchen was left with little option but to start playing by the same rules the corrupt rulers of these trade cities used. She employed spies, and operated covertly to expose the crimes of the people in charge, while in the public she focused on improving the lives of the common folk, helping with city planning and issues involving spirits in the broader world.
Outside of the burden of Szeto’s failings, Yangchen was also burdened with the memories of all her past lives.
Most Avatars only see glimpse of their past lives, or learn of their pasts through communicating with their previous selves through meditation. Yangchen had a different experience, with the line between herself and her past selves being blurred and indistinct at times.
Her identity as the Avatar became apparent at a young age, when she would get trapped in terrible memories of past mistakes from the many lifetimes she had lived previously.
Avatar Yangchen learned she had to sacrifice her own and her people’s beliefs in order to better serve the world. She lived unlike any other Air Nomad, detaching herself from her people to better serve the four nations. She accomplished much good in her time as the Avatar and brought about peace that lasted beyond her lifetime. Of course, no Avatar is without flaws, and inevitably, mistakes were made.
In the case of disagreements between humans and spirits, Yangchen damaged the word of the Avatar, by siding with humans more often than spirits. This lead to an increase in dark spirits, spirits who sought vengeance on humans. This ultimately lead to Avatar Kuruk, her successor, spending his life hunting down and destroying dark spirits, and action that would irrevocably harm his own spirit, and lead to his untimely demise.
Cosplaying Avatar Yangchen and collaborating with photographers to tell her story has been incredibly rewarding. Thank you so much to the photographers who have worked with me to capture this character, and to the people I’ve met at cons who recognize me as Avatar Yangchen (instead of Avatar Aang, or his granddaughter Jinora😅).
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