Avatar:Dai Li

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"Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions."

β€” Joo Dee to Team Avatar.[1]

<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Dai Li</default></title> <group> <header>General information</header> <label>Leader(s)</label> <label>Notable members</label> <label>Founder(s)</label> <label>Headquarters</label> <label>Affiliation</label> <label>Purpose</label> <label>Engagements</label> <label>Status</label> </group> <group> <header>Chronological information</header> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> <header>Image gallery (4)</header> </infobox> The Dai Li is the elite secret police force of Ba Sing Se who work to capture, interrogate, and imprison political dissidents.[1] The organization was founded by Avatar Kyoshi with the aim of "protecting the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se", effectively protecting the Earth King's interest against subversive individuals and groups.[2]

The Dai Li became corrupt over time and did not fulfill the purposes proposed and intended by its founder. After 79 AG, Grand Secretariat Long Feng was able to conspire with the Dai Li and effectively rule Ba Sing Se, reducing the position of the Earth King to a mere figurehead.[1] The Dai Li's corruption and decadence was so advanced that they later came under the command of Princess Azula, relinquishing any loyalty to the Earth Kingdom, and assisting the Fire Nation in the capture of Ba Sing Se.[3][4] A loyalist faction of the secret police remained and subsequently aligned itself with pro-Earth Kingdom revolutionary groups in Ba Sing Se, but most agents fully defected to the Fire Nation.[5][6]

After the Hundred Year War, the Dai Li regained the trust of the Earth Kingdom's government and began to serve again as the monarchy's secret police, only this time with direct loyalty to the crown itself. They became Earth Queen Hou-Ting's trusted enforcers, supporting her regime and aiding her plans.[7]

History

Origin

Template:Blockquote

Kyoshi founded the Dai Li and trained its initial members.

The Dai Li was originally created by Avatar Kyoshi, sometime between 270 and 82 BG, to preserve the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se in response to a peasant uprising against the government of the 46th Earth King. The agents received a particularly hard and elitist training by the Avatar herself, making them an extremely effective secret police force.[2] Kyoshi passed on Jianzhu's way of carrying out tactical missions and Yun's method of using earth gloves to the Dai Li.[8] Kyoshi's spirit later told Aang that she regretted having created the Dai Li, as she had no idea how corrupt they would eventually become.[2]

Reign of Earth King Jialun

After Kyoshi passed away, the Earth Sages intended to maintain the peace and prosperity that the Avatar had cultivated throughout the nation. Though the sages were deeply corrupt in Kyoshi's youth, they sought to redeem themselves by embracing their role as wise advisors and academics. They were now comfortable speaking against corruption, such as when Earth King Jialun attempted to maneuver and change the constitution for his own benefit. When Avatar Roku was still young and had just set out on his journey to master the four elements, the Dai Li obeyed the Earth King when he ordered them to round up every single sage in the purge known as the Night of Silenced Sages, with the order being abolished. The sages were given the choice to evolve or perish with their order. The few sages who remained became Grand Lectors, and the sages' temples reopened as Royal Learning Halls, tightly controlled by the crown.[9][10]

The king was largely regarded as harmless by most of the world, as he intentionally portrayed himself as weak and incompetent, while in fact being an extremely calculating man who manipulated everything for his own benefit. He turned states against each other and turned his people against the other nations so that the peasants had something to hate other than him.[10] However, the Dai Li responded when resistance was orchestrated against the crown, and the folk hero known as Langzi was at the top of their most wanted list after they focused on taking down corrupt politicians who exploited the common folk.[11]

Conspiracy of Ba Sing Se

As time went on, the Dai Li became more and more corrupt and ruthless in maintaining its status. In the later stages of the Hundred Year War, this was exploited by an upcoming agent named Long Feng who was able to take control of the Dai Li and eventually the entire Earth Kingdom government.[12]

From then on, the agents of the Dai Li, selectively picked at a young age, were controlled by Long Feng. They became his force to establish a police state in the capital, making himself the de facto dictator. Since speaking of the Hundred Year War with the Fire Nation was against the law in Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li kept a close watch on all refugees and new immigrants to the city, removing anyone who dared to break the code of silence and brainwashing them under Lake Laogai.[1][13] Long Feng's control of the Dai Li was not absolute, however. Several agents, including his right-hand man, did not serve him out of sheer loyalty but because it was beneficial for the secret police. This would prove crucial during the later Coup of Ba Sing Se.[4] Furthermore, the Dai Li's control was challenged by an opposition network known as the "Silver Fangs" which posed as a black market group.[14] The secret police knew of the Silver Fangs, but was never able to dismantle the network.[15]

In the mid-90s AG, Dai Li agents assisted Long Feng's spy network in a secret mission to acquire important war plans from Onomu. The latter was a high-ranking Fire Army general, who had fled the Fire Islands with important war plans due to a falling out with Fire Lord Ozai. Long Feng wanted to get the deserter's documents without allowing her entry into Ba Sing Se, tasking a number of his agents under the command of Yanran to achieve this goal.[16][17][18]

Dai Li agents brainwashed Jet.

In spring 100 AG, Team Avatar arrived in Ba Sing Se to inform Earth King Kuei about how to win the war against the Fire Nation. At Long Feng's behest, the Dai Li took immediate action to prevent them from seeing the monarch. They sent one of their agents, Joo Dee, posing as a tour guide, to tend to the Avatar and his friends while, in reality, she was impeding their progress by delaying any visits to the Earth King. When the gang tried to infiltrate the Royal Palace during a party hosted by the King, the Dai Li immediately arrested them, and the gang learned of the Dai Li's corruption. They threatened to reveal the conspiracy to the city, which resulted in Long Feng blackmailing them with Appa's life, who at the time was missing.[1] Team Avatar remained silent until Jet showed up in the city, offering to help them find Appa. In reality, he had been brainwashed into sending the group on a wild goose chase to Whaletail Island, nowhere near Ba Sing Se. After realizing this, they brought Jet back to reality, and with his help, they defeated the Dai Li at Lake Laogai in their attempt to save Appa. Jet later died at the hands of Long Feng.[19]

The Dai Li attempted to arrest Team Avatar on the orders of Long Feng.

After reuniting with Appa,[19] Team Avatar stormed the palace and informed the Earth King about the conspiracy despite heavy resistance from the Dai Li and Royal Earthbender Guards. With knowledge of Long Feng's wrongful assumption of power, the Earth King had Long Feng arrested while the Dai Li were forced to serve the king, whose trust in them was shattered; however, the organization maintained their loyalty to Long Feng.[20] Furthermore, the new political developments were largely kept from the public to avoid civil unrest. In effect, the Dai Li was allowed to continue its operations largely without interference, including its use of brainwashed "Joo Dees".[21]

Coup of Ba Sing Se and internal split

The Dai Li organized the Coup of Ba Sing Se under the command of Princess Azula.

Soon after Long Feng's downfall, Princess Azula infiltrated Ba Sing Se, and formed an alliance with the arrested ex-dictator. She took command of the Dai Li on the Grand Secretariat's orders, ostensibly to restore the secret police's reign over Ba Sing Se, yet Azula secretly began to shift the organization's loyalty to herself. Many Dai Li agents came to see the Fire Nation princess as the more effective leader, thus eroding their loyalty toward Long Feng. When the Coup of Ba Sing Se began, the secret police swiftly placed all members of the Council of Five, the foremost authority of the Earth Kingdom military, under house arrest, and assisted in the Earth King's arrest as well. After the Earth King's deposition, Long Feng tried to betray Azula, but he himself was in turn betrayed by the Dai Li.[4]

This marked a split within the secret police. The majority of the agents pledged their loyalty to the Fire Nation,[5][6] but a minority faction remained loyal to the Earth Kingdom. Yet the latter group was too weak to oppose Azula's takeover, and thus initially hid their true beliefs.[6] A large force of the Dai Li subsequently intervened when Aang and Katara battled with Zuko and Azula in the Crystal Catacombs. Their actions granted Azula the time she needed to strike down Aang, securing the coup's success.[4]

Dai Li contingents tore down parts of Ba Sing Se's walls, enabling the Fire Nation conquest of the city.

Following the coup, the Dai Li covertly crippled Ba Sing Se's infrastructure and seized key gates before publicly destroying a portion of Ba Sing Se's Inner Wall.[22][23] These actions paved the way for the Fire Nation conquest of the city.[15][22][24] The secret police directly assisted the Fire Army in suppressing the disorganized resistance across Ba Sing Se, seeking to arrest key opposition figures.[15][25] However, the loyalist elements of the Dai Li helped to sabotage efforts to dismantle the Silver Fangs.[6][15][25] Key prisoners were moved into secure Dai Li facilities.[26] After Ba Sing Se was placed under firm Fire Nation control, Princess Azula appointed Joo Dee as "Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator" to publicly lead a puppet regime. In reality, this government was jointly controlled by the Dai Li and Fire Nation military.[5][27]

Allegiance to the Fire Nation

After assisting in the Fire Nation conquest of Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li sought to cement the power of the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator's government and suppress unrest.[24][5] Yet the secret police quickly encountered major issues. Its Lake Laogai base was raided and flooded by an insurgent group,[26] considerably disrupting the Dai Li's brainwashing operations.[27][28] Furthermore, the secret police struggled to recruit reliable collaborators to support its regime, with overt and covert sabotage of the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator's government quickly becoming widespread.[26][27] In contrast, the Dai Li's cooperation with the Fire Nation military proved harmonious and mutually beneficial, resulting in widespread fraternization between agents and Fire Nation troops.[5]

Dai Li agents fought Team Avatar to protect Princess Azula.

Realizing the Dai Li's potential as bodyguards, Azula took a large Dai Li contingent with her to the Fire Nation;[29][30] these forces were left under the direct command of Long Feng's former right-hand man.[31] On the Day of Black Sun, the Dai Li emerged as an important Fire Nation asset. In Ba Sing Se, Dai Li agents ensured the puppet regime's safety as their firebending allies were left vulnerable; for instance, Inspector Heng managed to foil an attempt by rebels to remove one of the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrators.[29][32] Dai Li agents also helped to defeat the invasion of the Fire Nation, protecting Azula when she was attacked by Sokka, Toph, and Aang in the Fire Lord's secret bunker. These agents were eventually defeated by Team Avatar, but not before wasting a large portion of their time.[30]

Despite the close cooperation between the Fire Nation and the Dai Li, the secret police's loyalist faction continued to operate. It rallied under the leadership of Sumi who was both a Dai Li officer as well as a Silver Fangs leader. Under Sumi's direction, the loyalist faction covertly protected Silver Fangs members such as Jan, freed political prisoners such as Jin and Xuan,[6][27] and helped to prepare for a mass uprising in Ba Sing Se.[6]

Disgrace

The arrival of Sozin's Comet in summer 100 AG marked the beginning of the end for the pro-Fire Nation elements of the Dai Li.[31] Thanks to the preparations of Sumi and other Silver Fangs, a massive uprising broke out in Ba Sing Se. With the aid of the Order of the White Lotus, the rebels overthrew the Dai Li-backed puppet regime and liberated the Earth Kingdom capital.[33][34] Around the same time in the Fire Nation, Azula decided to banish her Dai Li guards for the minor mistake of taking five minutes to appear before her, stating that at that time, an assassin could have easily killed her and "been on his merry way". She continued by musing that they could betray her, to which the Dai Li spokesman replied that they would never betray the princess. Azula ignored this, stating they probably told Long Feng the same thing before betraying him and joining her, and proceeded to banish them. At this point, Azula was descending into insanity and no longer trusted others after Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal.[31]

Members of a Dai Li rogue faction battled Fire Lord Zuko at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.

After the Hundred Year War, elements of the Dai Li remained in the Fire Nation and were still loyal to Azula. Some of these Dai Li associates were hired by Pearl, a former headmistress of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, to kill the current headmistress Shihan for failing to uphold her traditional values. At the school, Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee encountered these rogue agents by chance, and the Dai Li members were defeated by the trio after a short but fierce clash. The agents were subsequently arrested by the Domestic Forces.[35]

Hou-Ting's reign

The Dai Li secretly imprisoned all airbenders in Ba Sing Se to train them as part of the Queen's regiment.

Sometime after the Hundred Year War, the Dai Li were restored as secret police and policy enforcers of the Earth Kingdom, though this time they served under the direct authority of the monarchy. When airbenders began to appear after the Harmonic Convergence in 171 AG, the Dai Li set out to capture them in Ba Sing Se on the Queen's orders for the purpose of conscripting them into the First Airbending Regiment of the Earth Queen's army.[7]

The airbenders were trained underground under the Dai Li's harsh regimen. The Dai Li demanded that they practice against each other and showed no mercy even if an opponent was clearly inferior. The airbending trainees were worked very hard and were sent to solitary confinement in a cell known as "The Hole" if they acted out of line. Eventually, the Dai Li captured Kai, an airbender who had been wandering around the city while using his abilities to take money from wealthier citizens. Kai was worked similarly to the other inmates, but was not readily obedient, not taking orders well. One day during training, he was attacked roughly with rocks and retaliated, causing him to be sent to "The Hole".[36]

The escaped airbenders repelled the Dai Li at the Earth Queen's Temple by using airbending.

Eventually, Team Avatar discovered the airbender kidnappings and sneaked into the airbender training grounds. They split up and worked to free the airbenders, including Kai, resulting in the battle at the Earth Queen's Temple. A small unit of agents, led by their sergeant, attempted to kill Kai and his liberators in the temple's underground. At the same time, the Earth Queen ordered the Dai Li to recapture the airbenders who had escaped to the surface. However, both Dai Li groups were repelled and the airbenders, as well as Team Avatar, escaped from Ba Sing Se.[36]

Sometime later, the Dai Li used their earthbending to open up the floor underneath a bound and gagged Mako and Bolin in order to send them toward the palace's prison. An agent later reported to the Queen that they had received a distress signal from the airship that was bringing a captured Korra toward the capital. When the Red Lotus subsequently barged into the throne room, the Dai Li attempted to stop them, but they were easily defeated, leaving the Queen at the mercy of Zaheer.[37]

Methods, equipment, and abilities

Template:Blockquote

The Dai Li use rock gloves to restrain their opponents.

The Dai Li are highly skilled earthbending masters, whose talents even surpassed those of the Earthbender Guards of the Royal Palace.[2] The secret police's first members were exclusively trained by Avatar Kyoshi herself in the art of stealth and precision,[2][8] and Long Feng singled this out as one reason for the group's continued effectiveness over several centuries.[38]

Dai Li agents wear gloves and shoes, both made out of earthen materials, in order to earthbend on the go. Their shoes also give them the ability to slide along the ground, increasing their speed. They are formidable earthbenders, as shown by the two agents who guarded Azula during the Black Sun invasion and the capture of the Council of Five, leading to their successful coup.[4][30]

The Dai Li are adept at using their stone shoes to cling to sheer rock surfaces, such as walls or ceilings. Mastery of this wall technique has been a part of their training ever since their inception and was therefore one of their most-used skills. They carry a binding "weapon" called surveyors' chains within their robes, which they threw from their sleeves to ensnare and hold prisoners, particularly other earthbenders, in order to inhibit their bending.[4] While under Long Feng, they used brainwashing to force rebels, such as Jet, to accept that there was no war within the walls of Ba Sing Se, forget certain information, and submit to their will. Most of Ba Sing Se's citizens feared them and wanted nothing to do with them, knowing that only trouble could arise from meddling in any of their affairs.[1]

A Dai Li censor and her colleague conduct a nightly raid.

Within the Dai Li, some officers held specialist positions such as judges who presided over certain trials,[6] inspectors who sought out and arrested subversive individuals,[32] and censors who tried to control publishing in Ba Sing Se.[39]

The Dai Li were often paired up when sent on a specific mission. As such, a pairing of agents attacked Toph at Lake Laogai, spied on Team Avatar as they left their house,[19] and protected Azula on two known occasions: when Zuko attacked her prior to his short imprisonment,[4] and during the Day of Black Sun which helped her stall Team Avatar.[30]

Known members

Leaders

  • Azula (leader; formerly; spring β€” summer 100 AG)
  • Head of the Dai Li (leader; formerly; summer 100 AG - Unknown)
  • Long Feng (leader; formerly; until spring 100 AG)

Ranking and regular officers

Trivia

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  • Stories and poems in ancient China refer to secret polices that pretended to guard the emperor but, in the end, betrayed him and joined the enemy.
  • The Dai Li's costumes appear to be modeled after the government agents, or Mandarins, of Qing Dynasty China, which replaced traditional Chinese government clothing with that of the ruling Manchu ethnic group. They wear a court robe with a Mandarin square (rank badge) embroidered with the Earth Kingdom emblem, and an official's black summer hat.
  • The Dai Li's name (戴笠
    (dài lì)), like many Chinese phrases, has two meanings in Chinese. The first is literal. "Dai" (戴
    (dΓ i)) means "to wear (a hat)". "Li" (η¬ 
    (lì)) is the cone shape rain hat that farmers and fishermen wear in China, which look similar to the hats worn by Dai Li in the show. When placed together in a phrase, they form the word proxy or agent. However, the same characters are also the name of a person, and it was from him the Dai Li were named. Lieutenant General Dai Li was a top Chinese government official for the Kuomintang during the first half of the 20th century, and one of the most feared men in China. He was infamously the leader of Chiang Kai-Shek's secret police and the paramilitary fascist Blue Shirt Society. The number of agents in his organization is said to have been over 50,000 at one point, and their assignments include surveillance, kidnapping, apprehension, and assassination. It was because of his "legacy" of oppression that the creators chose to name Ba Sing Se's secret police after him.[41]
  • The Dai Li also appears to be very similar to the Praetorian Guard of Ancient Rome, which supposedly protected the emperor, but in more than one case-controlled him, even murdering the insidious Emperor Caligula. They also seem to be somewhat equivalent to the Ottoman Janissaries, a slave army primarily composed of kidnapped and conscripted Christian boys, who were ostensibly under the Sultan's personal command, but more often than not held great sway in royal and political affairs, to the extent that they could enthrone their own puppet sultans. They also bear similarities to the Jinyiwei, a secret police under the command of Emperors on the Ming Dynasty. They were specialized in skills such as stealth, kidnapping, and other activities to eliminate enemies of the state. Also, their headquarters were usually well hidden from overall knowledge and not far from the seat of Imperial power, similar to the Dai Li's easy access to the Royal Palace and hidden bases.
  • The Dai Li agent who was training the Joo Dees[19] was picked for the assignment because of his dazzling smile, which is the model for the permanent grin of every Joo Dee.[42]
  • According to the show's creators, Republic City's Metalbending Police Force in The Legend of Korra was partially inspired by the Dai Li.[43] Furthermore, the methods such as shooting metal wires used by the police force bear similarities to those such as shooting rock gloves used by the Dai Li.
  • According to "Avatar Extras" for "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno", the Dai Li begin training at thirteen years of age.
  • Though not considered canon, F. C. Yee, the author of the Kyoshi novels, stated that his headcanon is Kyoshi formed the Dai Li so that they could take out the Earth King if he ever got out of control and went corrupt.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 214
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Escape from the Spirit World: Avatar Kyoshi Online Comic Book
  3. ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 219
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 220
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 2, Episode 303
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Virtual Event with F. C. Yee and E.K. Johnston".Old Firehouse Books.Link(accessed October 31, 2020)(October 31, 2020).
  9. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 46.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 54.
  11. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 55.
  12. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 24.
  13. ↑ Nick.com (archived)
  14. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  16. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 120.
  17. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 125.
  18. ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 130.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 217
  20. ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 218
  21. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 301
  23. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  28. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 311
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1, Episode 320
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Template:Cite Legends Novels
  33. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  34. ↑ Template:Cite Legends Novels
  35. ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender Comic: AA
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 2, Episode 304
  37. ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 2, Episode 310
  38. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AvatarGenerations-HQ
  39. ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender (Magic: The Gathering), "Dai Li Censor" card (default version).
  40. ↑ Nick.com (archived)
  41. ↑ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan & Hedrick, Tim (May 22, 2007). "Lake Laogai" commentary. Book 2: Earth, Volume 3 DVD.
  42. ↑ Nick.com (archived)
  43. ↑ San Diego Comic-Con 2011

See also

de:Dai Li es:Dai Li fr:Dai Li he:דאה ΧœΧ™ nl:Dai Li pl:Dai Li pt-br:Dai Li ru:Π”Π°ΠΉ Π›ΠΈ vi:Dai Li

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