Avatar:Lower Ring
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<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Lower Ring</default></title> <group> <header>Physical information</header> <label>Location</label> </group> <group> <header>Government</header> <label>Position</label> <label>Capital</label> <label>Form of government</label> <label>Head of state</label> <label>Religious authority</label> <label>Currency</label> <label>Ruler</label> <label>Owner</label> <label>Leader</label> <label>Administrator</label> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> <group> <header>Location on map</header> </group> <header></header> </infobox> The Lower Ring is one of the three residential sections of Ba Sing Se, serving as home for the city's lower classes and the majority of its population.[1][2] It hosts important industries and many service providers, including for food, clothing, as well as medicine which supply the locals as well as the economies of the Middle and Upper Rings.[1][3][4] However, the Lower Ring has traditionally also included large slums whose population often survived in destitution and endured high levels of crime.[1][5] In general, the Lower Ring was often neglected by the Earth Kingdom's bureaucracy and law enforcement.[5][6][7]
In times of crisis such as the Hundred Year War, the Lower Ring's population was further swelled by refugees and migrants. As a result, the Lower Ring was historically a highly diverse place, but its traditionally high community spirit functioned as a social glue and quickly integrated newcomers into the existing social structures.[3]
History
The Lower Ring was created when the Ba Sing Se wall network was built, meaning that it exists since at least 4,900 BG.[8] Within the city's system, the Lower Ring was designed to host poor citizens.[2] The people of the Lower Ring were relatively well looked-after during the reign of Earth King Feishan who cared for his poorest subjects and viewed them as allies against potential anti-royal opposition in the Middle and Upper Rings.[9]
The Lower Ring experienced considerable upheaval during the 3rd century BG. It heavily suffered under the aftermath of the Wars of Secrets and Daggers, with the escalating corruption among Earth Kingdom bureaucracy worsening their status. Numerous daofei groups also fled from the rural parts of the nation to the Lower Ring, overcoming native gangs and setting up more violent, effective, and exploitative crime structures.[5][10] Instead of directly assisting the Lower Ring's population, Earth King Yi Ming focused on large-scale public works such as the monorail[11] and improving security by any means neccessary.[12][13] These efforts led to even greater immediate problems for Ba Sing Se's poor, as homes and industries in the Lower Ring were demolished to make room for the monorail,[14] while the king's agents abused the locals in search for criminals and rebels.[12] In the late 290s BG, the Lower Ring fell into chaos when a local daofei group, the Fanged Mercenaries, kidnapped the children of Fire Nation ambassador Quin. This resulted in a destructive manhunt by Yi Ming's Anti-Corruption Task Force, Quin's guards, Mengyao the vigilante, and agents of Avatar Kyoshi.[13][15]
Frustration over the Earth Kingdom government gradually grew in the Lower Ring, escalating in a full revolution after 270 BG. Citizens from the Lower Ring stormed the Middle and Upper Rings, declaring their intention to overthrow the 46th Earth King and destroy the nation's old order.[16] Avatar Kyoshi intervened, negotiating a compromise which resulted in a new constitution for the Earth Kingdom. For the rest of Kyoshi's long life, the fortunes of the Lower Ring's poor improved. This progress was largely undone during the reign of Earth King Jialun in the 1st century BG.[17][18]
After the Hundred Year War's outbreak in 0 AG, Ba Sing Se and the Lower Ring in particular became a sanctuary to masses of refugees who fled from the Fire Nation's advance.[19] This left the Lower Ring even more overcrowded, and its living standards further declined. This development was reinforced when the Conspiracy of Ba Sing Se was initiated by the Dai Li, as the entire city factually became a police state where any dissent was suppressed. Protests by Lower Ring residents were silenced, while the locals' plight was largely ignored by officials.[19][20]
Following the Hundred Year War, the Lower Ring remained beset by "poverty, crime, poor sanitation, and overcrowding", with its people often feeling left behind as the rest of the world rebuilt. The area continued to be exploited by crime bosses and corrupt officials.[21] Groups such as the Flying Koi Carnival sought to balance the rampant inequality by stealing from the Middle Ring and distributing their gains to Lower Ring residents.[22] A substantial number of refugees ultimately left the Lower Ring to return to their old homes.[21]
The Lower Ring suffered under the stagnant and authoritarian regime of Earth Queen Hou-Ting, seeing little development during her reign.[23] After the assassination of Hou-Ting in 171 AG, Red Lotus revolutionary Ghazan used lavabending to take down the wall that separated the Lower Ring from the rest of the city. The poor citizens promptly stormed the other rings, causing a looting spree which led to widespread chaos and kickstarted the anarchy in the Earth Kingdom.[24] After the fall of the Earth Empire, Ba Sing Se's social order continued to reel from the disruptions of previous years. With the Middle Ring still broken, Lower Ring residents continued to freely move in the city and many saw recent developments as a serious improvement of their quality of life. Yet this development was resented by the people of the Middle Ring.[25]
Society
The Lower Ring is the most densely populated area of Ba Sing Se, with most of the inhabitants being poor.[2][26] By the early 3rd century BG, the most crowded area was the Loongkau City Block, a haven for the very poor and criminal gangs.[5] As a result of its vast population and repeated influx of migrant waves, the Lower Ring hosts a diverse society.[3][1] Thanks to its traditionally strong community sense, newcomers were often quickly integrated and found a place to belong. Unlike many other Earth Kingdom societies βwhich were often intolerant and culturally inflexibleβ the people of the Lower Ring showcased few prejudices.[3][4] For instance, non-heteronormative people were generally accepted,[4][20] whereas they faced persecution in other parts of the nation.[27]
Most of the Lower Ring residents work with their hands as artisans, laborers, and craftsmen, while the rest are merchants and food vendors.[1][3][4] Due to the impoverished state of many citizens of the Lower Ring, as well as the influx of refugees, the petty crime rate is significantly higher than in the rest of Ba Sing Se.[5][2] Until 171 AG, Lower Ring citizens were issued work passes to facilitate their travel to the other rings for labor purposes; such individuals acted under a curfew, and had to return to their dwellings at certain designated times.[2][28] This pass system was effectively abolished after the Red Lotus revolution.[25]
Buildings in the Lower Ring have traditionally been rather small, because the many people need to be crammed into the space available and the usually poor contruction did not allow for high-rise structures. The roofs of most buildings in the ring are brown tiled. The Lower Ring's status and poverty have remained largely unchanged over centuries. While parts of it were modernized after the Great War, mainly transportation and communication, the Lower Ring has further deteriorated into an overgrown, overpopulated slum with a foul odor, detectable from an airship overflying the area.[23]
Newspapers were published in the Lower Ring by 100 AG.[29] Many locals also came to own radios over the next decades.[24]
Education
Access to education is factually limited for Lower Ring residents, despite the existence of some programmes to help the poor. By the late Hundred Year War, most Lower Ring students dropped out of school around the age of thirteen or fourteen to help with family businesses. Teachers at neighborhood schools could recommend promising students for scholarships at the literature academies in the other rings,[29] and low-income university students would be granted funds to cover their tuition and meals as well as apartments.[30] Yet these kinds of assistance were limited, and students from the Lower Ring generally disfavored in comparison with better-off students, as the latter also had easier access to patronage networks which were crucial for social advancement in Earth Kingdom society.[29][31]
Despite the existing limitations, basic literacy was relatively widespread in the Lower Ring by 100 AG.[29]
Cityscape
The Lower Ring is split into several districts, each with distinguishing features in regards to construction, economies, and social structure.[3][4][5] Over the course of its history, some districts experienced great changes,[14] whereas other proved rather stable.[5]
One of the most notable and long-lasting districts was Loongkau, often called "Loongkau City Block", "the City Block" or just "the Block",[5] existing since before the 3rd century BG.[5] It bordered the Middle Ring's entertainment district and the Lower Ring's Snake Alleys as well as Spring Overlook.[32][33] From the outside, Loongkau seemed rather similar to other poor areas of the Lower Ring with a chaotic street network and ramshackle buildings of a few stories. In reality, however, the City Block was one of the most densely populated parts of Ba Sing Se and a haven for the very poor; most of its destitute population lived below the surface in a underground network carved without plan over generations deeply into the earth.[5] Serving as a de facto slum, lacking police oversight, and being built like a kind of fortress, Loongkau was favored by criminal gangs and black market traders.[5][34]
The Snake Alleys was a district marked by its narrow, maze-like streets. It was home to vibrant food markets and small food businesses.[3] Banner Lane was one of the most prosperous districts of the Lower Ring. It was home to shops and industries which catered to the tastes of customers of the Middle and Upper Rings, such as hand-painted fans. Next to it was the Lantern Road which was less prosperous but still comparatively well-off, hosting shops and restaurants which mainly cater to the employees of Banner Lane.[4]
The Spring Overlook, locally better known as the "Weeping Hills", was one of the few parts of the Lower Ring which were not built over. This was due to the local drainage canals which produced an unbearable stench in warm weather. The Spring Overlook consisted of a few grassy hills with a splattering of trees; over time, it became one of the main graveyards of the Lower Ring.[32]
Known locations
- Gan's Noodle Shop: A hole-in-the-wall shop which served as a hideout for the Fanged Mercenaries daofei in the early 3rd century BG.[14]
- Hu Yuan Apothecary: A medical establishment, headed by Doctor Jan by 100 AG. It was known for providing medicine made up of many different ingredients to improve one's health, one customer was Gong-gong, Jin's grandfather. Doctor Jan's son Xuan also worked here. The motto of the apothecary was Healing rivers flow through here and mountains stand strong against the storm.[4]
- Lady Liang's: This shop located on Banner Lane sold hand-painted fans, commonly bought by people from the Upper Ring. They received Wen Bakery deliveries to allow customers to snack while shopping.[4]
- Lao Yiu's gambling den: The largest and most notorious gambling house in the Lower Ring by 100 AG.[35][36]
- Loongkau's Lucky Pocket: Located in the Loongkau City Block, the Lucky Pocket was overtaken by the Triad of the Golden Wing in the early 3rd century BG. After Avatar Kyoshi took the triad down, other groups moved into the area and set up shop. While the quarter housed a good number of daofei gangs, a diverse market with cramped hallways dominated the zone. The Anti-Corruption Task Force liked to make regular stops at the Lucky Pocket, but the warren of underground market stalls made it hard for them to single out daofei. This place became a great spot for clandestine meetings, under the table deals, and other illicit business, all beneath the notice of the task force's watch. The Lucky Pocket had a diverse range of stalls, such as noodle shops and cabbage stands.[34]
- Lowtown Laundry: This was one of the largest washing facilities in the Lower Ring. Here people could purchase bars of laundry soap, wash their clothes in the heated spring the site was built over, or drop off laundry for cleaning services at a hefty fee. When Tan and his firebenders were looking for a place to set up shop, they chose Lowtown Laundry for its central location, but also to put pressure on Hop to give them information about the local residents.[14]
- Pao Family Tea House: This establishment on Lantern Road became locally famous in 100 AG, after Iroh greatly improved the quality of the tea.[4]
- Wen Bakery: A popular bakery in the "Snake Alleys", it was run by the Wen family and made deliveries to many other shops in the Lower Ring, including Lady Liang's and the Pao Family Teahouse. It produced many delicious and beautifully designed pastries involving ingredients such as moon peaches.[3]
- Wood Frog Lumberyard: Originally a small woodcutting operation on the south side of the Lower Ring, it was one of the shops designated to be destroyed to make room for the monorail's construction in the early 3rd century BG. Its desperate owners subsequently allowed the site to be used for daofei meetings, seeking to get some funds before their home was wiped out.[14]
Known residents
Trivia
- The Firelight Fountain was originally supposed to be located in the Lower Ring,[46] but this was retconned in the novel City of Echoes, in which the fountain was mentioned to be in the Middle Ring.[47]