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What are some events in Chinese history that were not recorded in Chinese official historical records, but were uncovered in historical records of other countries?If we look at history, some incidents which occurred in China but was perpetrated by foreigners were simply not recorded in China’s historical records simply because at the time, they were not aware of it or because it was a piece of history which they did not wish to embellish. We can probably illustrate by some examples.The Tea Trade.Part of this history is ‘The great tea robbery: how the British stole China’s secrets and seeds – and broke its monopoly on the brew’. England had a great affair with tea in the past and until 170 years ago, the only serious producer and exporter of tea was China and its virtual monopoly was sabotaged – by Britain. Tea remains the most popular drink in the world after water and the global market is forecast to reach US$47.2 billion by 2020. Market growth is largely attributed to the increasing popularity of green tea, which is perceived as having personal health benefits, but in the 19th century it was the health of an entire nation that was at stake because the English fell in love with tea drinking over the past two centuries.The Culture and Preparation of Tea, China (1843), by English artist Thomas Allom.Tea changed the role of China on the world stage, because the tea trade gave birth to the colonial territory of Hong Kong – tea drove economic expansion of the British empire in the Far East and Britain’s economy became dependent on tea, which had been a drain on the silver of Britain. As most in Hong Kong are aware, it was to balance its trading account and pay for the tea that the East India Company first began importing opium to China which we will also describe later.The guy, a plant hunter, a gardener, a thief, and a spy was Robert Fortune who was responsible for having taken quite a few plants from China to the west including the cumquat, a climbing double yellow rose ('Fortune's Double Yellow' (syn. Gold of Ophir) which proved a failure in England's climate) and many varieties of tree peonies, azaleas and chrysanthemums. A climbing white rose that he brought back from China in 1850, believed to be a natural cross between Rosa laevigata and R. banksiae, was dubbed R. fortuniana (syn. R. fortuneana) in his honor. This rose, too, proved a failure in England, preferring warmer climates. Today, both of these roses are still widely grown by antique rose fanciers in mild winter regions. Rosa fortuniana also serves as a valuable root stock in Australia and the southern regions of the United States.In 1848, the British East India Company sent Robert Fortune on a trip to China's interior, an area forbidden to foreigners. Fortune's mission was to steal the secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. The Scotsman donned a disguise and headed into the Wu Si Shan hills ( I think this refers to the Wuyi mountains near Xiamen) in a bold act of corporate espionage. Fortune employed many different means to steal tea plants and seedlings, property of the Chinese empire. He is also known for his use of Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward's portable Wardian glass bottled cases to sustain the plants. Using these small greenhouses, Fortune introduced 20,000 tea plants and seedlings to the Darjeeling region of India. He also illegally brought a group of trained Chinese tea workers who would facilitate the production of tea leaves.Read more: The Great British Tea HeistWhich brings us to the Opium Trade.Lots of people know about the Opium Wars but what people do not know is how it destroyed a nation by its scale. As a contrast, we can look at statistics from USA in which opioid overdoses killed some 47,600 in 2017 and 42,000 in 2016. In 2016, total global opium production was 6.380 tons and some 53 million opiate users worldwide. But when the British East India Company used opium to finance their consumption of tea, silk and ceramics, the cultivation of the poppy in Bengal increased from 36,400 hectares in 1830 to 71,200 hectares by 1840 and 200,000 hectares in 1900; and with the jump in supply, opium prices fell significantly from 2,500 Spanish silver dollars in 1822 to 585 Silver $ in 1838, resulting in a larger proportion of the Chinese population becoming addicted to it.From 300 tonnes in 1800 CE it was 2500 tonnes by 1839, around the 1st Opium War. And after 1858 with the 2nd Opium War, China was forced to legalise importation of opium, such that by 1880, it was a humongous 6,500 tonnes imported into China alone! Just imagine it, world production in 2016 was only 6380 tonnes.So while USA is now just having a problem with opioids, in China at the time it was a pandemic. Millions of Chinese addicts were killed whilst Queen Victoria was on the throne of England from 1837 to 1901, because by 1835, some 90% of the male population under 40 was obsessed with this pleasure –inducing substance.Read ..Economic effects of the opium wars for imperial China, the downfall of an empire by Muge Kalipci.It wasn’t just the British who were involved in this saga. France and USA were also getting rich with Chinese silver. The Americans sourced opium from Turkey and carried it to China via Canton and it was a source of great wealth for some notable families in the USA now. The Perkin clan of Boston, Samuel Russell of Connecticut who established Russell and Company and who recruited Warren Delano, the grandfather of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Robert Bennet Forbes and Paul Sieman Forbes (does the Forbes name sound familiar?). Other names include Cushing, Perkins, Low and Green and these people provided the seed corn for the economic revolution in America. In Pennsylvania, there is a town named Delano and the Perkins family built Boston’s Atheneaum, the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Perkins Institution for the Blind as well as the first railroad in America to carry stone from his quarries to the Bunker Hill monument.John Perkins Cushing’s opium haul financed the construction of America’s textile manufacturing city in Lowell, Massachusetts. And Yale was built with largesse from Russell’s family. Ever heard of the Yale Skull and Bones society. Columbia University has ties with Abbot Low and John Cleve Green was a benefactor of Princeton University and Manhattan’s Hospital for special Surgery. Forbes financed railways such as Michigan Central and Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. John Murray Forbes’ son was the first president of Bell Telephone and Abiel Abbot Low provided start up money for the first transatlantic cable, while Joseph Coolidge was involved with the Council on Foreign Relations. Forbes name is also part of John Forbes Kerry, previous Secretary of State, so you see how all this money makes its way into power.Read ‘the China Mirage’ James Bradley.China has since learned from this tragedy that she cannot shut herself out from the world and her humiliation due to her own arrogance was a wake-up call. It took the CCP to restore the unity of China after the demolition of the Qing Dynasty and the destruction of the Warlord Era before China could stand up again. So in some ways, it was a cycle of history that the Chinese will write into their book.Thanks for A2AI have decided to add another story to this question.The revolutionary that China forgot. Sun Yat-sen’s lover Cuifen and her Malaysia villa.This story is about China’s revolutionaries and a city in Malaysia called Taiping, one of the cities recognised as among the top three sustainable cities in the world.Read more at Taiping is No 3 most sustainable city in the worldWhat will matter most on one’s deathbed? For Chen Cuifen, partner of Sun Yat-sen, it was a gold ring and a pocket watch, engraved with Sun’s English name. Hidden in a coffee mill in Assam Kumbang in Taiping is a “revolutionary” love story deeply embedded in the days of the Republic of China, the story of Sun Yat-sen and his romantic partner during the revolution, Chen Cuifen.Beside the Aun Tong Coffee Mill is the Changchun Pu villa, looking washed out by the passage of time. A fan-shaped wooden plaque with the inscription Changchun Pu (长春圃) hangs on the building’s external wall, and a signboard with the words Aun Tong (安东) is prominently displayed above the door to the villa. Not far from the door stands a statue of Sun Yat-sen.On entering Changchun Pu, one sees interior walls plastered with photographs, portraits, calligraphies, and newspaper cuttings, each with their own stories to tell. Apart from a few portraits of Sun Yat-sen, there is a colour portrait of a young Chen Cuifen hanging alongside a few black-and-white photos of her on the walls. Among the newspaper clippings on the wall was researcher Li Yongqiu’s article that Chen had travelled alone to Malaya in 1914 after breaking up with Sun Yat-sen. She stayed at Changchun Pu for many years and adopted a daughter, Su Zhongying (苏仲英).The first owners of Changchun Pu was Chan Kye Choo (陈继祖), elder brother of Chan Peik Kwan (陈璧君). Chan Peik Kwan fell in love with the talented Wang Ching-wei (汪精卫, a close associate and active supporter of Sun Yat-sen) and married him. The Chan siblings were in close contact with members of the Tongmenghui (同盟会) that Sun Yat-sen founded. It was only natural, then, that Chen Cuifen made her home in Changchun Pu. Changchun Pu became the Aun Tong Coffee Mill in 1940, when Tiah Ee Mooi (程依妹), owner of the mill, rented the place to set up his coffee mill. He subsequently purchased the property in 1942.Chen Cuifen was known by many as Sun Yat-sen’s “partner in revolution” (geming banlv 革命伴侣). Her birth name was Xiangling (香菱), and she was also known as Ruifen (瑞芬). She was born in Hong Kong, but her hometown was in Tong’an, Fujian. Being the fourth child in her family, she was often affectionately called sigu (fourth aunt) by comrades of the revolution. She was Sun Yat-sen’s confidante. The pair met through Chinese revolutionary Chan Siu-bak, who introduced Chen to Sun when the latter was studying in Hong Kong in the 1890s.Sun Yat-sen is said to have had romantic relationships with at least four women during his lifetime. His first wife Lu Muzhen (1867-1952) selflessly took care of his children; his partner in revolution, Chen Cuifen (1874-1962), braved all storms and conquered all odds with him during his revolutionary career. The “Mother” of China, Soong Ching-ling (1893-1981), was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen in the days of Sun’s reign; and Sun's second wife Kaoru Otsuki’s marriage with Sun, was only a brief one.Unlike Lu Muzhen and Soong Ching-ling, Chen Cuifen was not recognised. History does not remember her name, and her relationship with Sun Yat-sen was never made public. She was placed under a “political ban” to protect the images of Sun and Soong. Even when she passed away in Hong Kong in 1962, her funeral was miserably simple, without a single obituary in the newspapers, and her body was hastily buried in a Chinese cemetery in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong.Chen and Sun spent over 20 years together. Before the success of the revolution, Chen stayed by Sun’s side, taking care of his every need. Whether Sun was practising medicine in Macau, taking refuge in Japan, or plotting the revolution in Nanyang, Chen risked her life and did all she could to support his career. She cooked his meals, washed his laundry, and even delivered intelligence and smuggled ammunition for him and the revolution.After the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1911, Sun took centre stage in the political arena and said goodbye to the days of fleeing and hiding from his enemies. But it was not long before he again fled to Japan in August 1913, when his Second Revolution against Yuan Shikai failed miserably. During his asylum in Japan, he met Soong Ching-ling. Classy and elegant, Soong was 27 years his junior and had studied in the United States. She became his secretary. He was immediately drawn to her, and she was full of admiration for him.Sun Yat-sen decided to divorce his first wife, Lu Muzhen, and sever all ties with Chen Cuifen. Chen, who was around 40 years old at that time, decided to leave for Nanyang for good. It would be close to 20 years later, in 1931, before she returned to Hong Kong and Guangzhou with her adopted daughter Su Zhongying, upon Sun Fo’s (孙科, Sun Yat-sen’s son) request.It wasn’t until many years after her death that Chen Cuifen caught the public's attention. In the midst of Xinhai Revolution’s 100th anniversary, people tried to put a name to the relationship she had with Sun Yat-sen. Was she his confidante? Partner? Concubine? Platonic revolutionary companion? Bodyguard? Follower?There were so many clashing ideas about the relationship between the pair that the 100th-anniversary celebration of the 1910 Penang Conference (庇能会议) ended in two separate commemorations because the organisers couldn’t agree on the screening of the movie Road to Dawn (《夜·明》). The movie acknowledged the romantic relationship between Chen and Sun.It was not only a dispute amongst the organisers. Descendants of the Sun family who attended the commemorative event were also split into two camps. One side acknowledged Chen’s relationship with Sun, seeking to restore Chen’s rightful position as one of Sun’s partners, while the other camp refused to do so, wanting to uphold Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling’s historical image at all costs.Su Zhongying’s son, Sun Bisheng, reported that Chen Cuifen’s name has been added into the Sun genealogy as Sun Yat-sen’s concubine. Her tomb has also been relocated from Hong Kong to the Sun family burial plot at Cuihengcun (翠亨村) in Guangzhou. This relocation was said to be Sun Tse-ping’s (孙治平, 1913-2005, the grandson of Sun Yat-sen and his first wife, Lu Muzhen) final wish before he passed away.It is evident that Chen Cuifen was Sun Yat-sen’s concubine, as evidenced by his letters. Writing to his daughters, Sun Yan (孙娫) and Sun Wan (孙婉), in a letter dated December 1910, Sun clearly addressed Lu Muzhen and Chen Cuifen as their “two mothers”.While Sun Tse-ping didn’t forget to acknowledge Chen Cuifen, Sun Sui-ying (孙穗英), Sun Fo’s eldest daughter, was adamant. She insisted on defending Soong Ching-ling’s image as the “Mother” of China. In 2010, although Sun Sui-ying was unable to attend the commemoration of the 1910 Penang Conference due to advanced age, she made her presence felt. She instructed her son, Dr Lin Shanli (林山立), to denounce all claims that Chen Cuifen and Sun Yat-sen were once in a relationship, insisting that Chen was just a “partner in revolution” acting as a “cover” for Sun to keep his actions out of sight from potential enemies. Sun Sui-ying’s actions were not without reason. She was on close terms with Soong Ching-ling, who solemnised her wedding.The surrenderIn 1915, Sun Yat-sen married Soong Ching-ling in Japan. Ten years later, Sun passed away and was laid to rest in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in 1929. Throughout this period of time, Chen Cuifen never once left Nanyang, and she wouldn’t have left at all if not for Sun Fo’s invitation.Chen Cuifen spent her golden years living with her daughter and son-in-law. Sun Bisheng once told the media that Chen Cuifen passed away in his embrace on 21 October 1962. As she lay dying, she passed him a gold ring and a pocket watch, the two items she had most treasured throughout her life. The pocket watch had Sun Yat-sen’s English name engraved on it and was the only keepsake he gave her. She finally let him go and breathed her last.https://www.thinkchina.sg/sun-yat-sens-lover-cuifen-and-her-malaysia-villa

Well, let’s see…(Btw thanks Kenny Nguyen for usurping my rightful choice but, no fear, I have plenty to choose from!)TL;DR at the bottom. Otherwise, prepare for spoilers and an unnecessarily long answer.So yes, Zuko is my top favourite character in the show. But I’ve already covered his arc and journey in the show in great depth before. So, I’ll talk about my next favourite character.But, see, that’s really hard, because there are several characters that I would consider not quite on par with Zuko but as equal as each other in quality, with their individual arcs, development, history, personalities, skillset and motives.Zuko’s taken, Sokka’s covered, Azula is given her rightful praise as is Iroh. I’m very tempted to go with Appa because who doesn’t love that beastly fur-ball?! So, I’ll go in depth into the main guy who’s a fancy dancer and hates killing people.It’s Aang. If I had to summarise the most reluctant hero that ever reluctant-ed, it would be through these pictures. Romantic, vengeful, flawed, cheeky, funny, lovable and above all else, heroic.Aang is our central protagonist throughout the course of The Last Airbender. Our lovable Chosen One trope, who must face his destiny as the Avatar and bring balance to the world by mastering all four elements and defeating the Fire Lord. Very simple, and yet a solid springboard to build a three-dimensional character.In terms of development, backstory, motivation, flaws, abilities and thematic symbolism, Aang is just as (motherfrickin’) amazing as the rest of my top 5 characters of the show, that list being:Zuko.Aang.Iroh.Azula.Katara.Even if characters have a lower ranking, I still like to think of them on equal terms with each other, and it’s extremely hard for me to decide to rank one character higher than another, because each of them are so - God - damn - beautifully - written, with Zuko being the best out of them all for me, personally.But I have a lot to say about Aang as well, so let’s give him the romp.So what is it about our titular Avatar that makes him compelling enough to be my immediate runner up as a favourite character amidst a sea of favourites?Well, to start with, he’s flawed.For human beings to emotionally invest themselves with fictional characters on a piece of paper or a pixel of screen, we need something to relate to.The most obvious thing to not relate to (or if we even can’t relate) is a perfect character. A character who is kind, super intelligent, highly powerful, wise and can drum up a cup of tea with just a contraction of their sphincter.I had to end it grossly somehow, do you not know me?But humans love seeing the flaws in a character. It highlights that they are nowhere near perfect, the audience can’t put them so high on a pedestal (or at least if they aren’t played by Emma Watson) and they can relate to the fact that it’s okay that these heroes we’re supposed to be invested in (who represent the very best of us) aren’t the ideal person we’d like to be.But it therefore makes it that much more satisfying to see them rise above their flaws, or even accept them as a part of themselves, and still try their hardest to do what is right.Avatar Aang exhibits this brilliantly, which makes him a relatable character.One of the prominent themes in the show surrounds abstractions such as destiny, identity and redemption. How we choose to define ourselves with the words we say and things we do, how we grow and mature, and if we choose to reject or accept the whims of fate.Aang underscores all three as he develops over the course of the show.At just 12 years old, he had earned the arrow tattoos of an Air Nomad master. Around the same time, he learned that he was the Avatar. Normally, the identity is revealed when the Avatar is 16.But the looming threat of war was upon them. The Air Nomads needed him. Already, the airbender is thrust into a situation no normal 12-year-old would or should be burdened with.Soon, Aang found himself socially ostracised. His former friends reasoned that because he was now the Avatar, he would be an unfair advantage in whatever game they played, even though Aang only knew how to airbend, and had no knowledge or practice of using the Avatar State. Even Monk Gyatso kicking his butt at Pai Sho didn’t alleviate his spirits.Then he overheard the monks planning to send him away to the Eastern Air Temple, away from Gyatso, to complete his airbending training.Aang was afraid and confused on what to do. So he did what he thought was best. He ran away.In his flight, he and his pet bison Appa were caught in a tempestuously violent storm, sending them both beneath the water. Aang’s Avatar State activated reflexively, combining airbending and waterbending to form a sphere of ice around them and keep them alive in suspended animation.Above and beyond, Fire Lord Sozin used the power of the centennial passing comet (Sozin’s Comet) to launch his global war, genocidally killing off the Air Nomads in a bid to prevent the Avatar from stopping the Fire Nation’s conquest.Sozin and his successors searched in vain for the elusively eponymous ‘Last Airbender’, but none of their efforts bore fruit.Until two Water Tribe teenagers were in the right place at the right time.It is arguable that Aang shouldn’t have run away, leaving all of his people to die. But it is also worthy to note that, had Aang stayed, he would have likely been killed or captured, and the Fire Nation’s global conquest would have gone unchallenged, irreparably throwing the world out of balance.By choosing to run away and reawaken 100 years later, Aang secured a fighting chance for the world to truly fight back and defeat the Fire Nation. His presence gives people hope, after they have lived without it for so long.Not only this, he has to grapple with the fact that his act of running away had a consequence. He discovers the skeleton of Gyatso amongst a strewn mess of Fire Nation soldiers, and he must accept the reality that the Air Nomads are dead, save him, and that it was his fault. We are therefore able to care about Aang in a way we wouldn’t have if he did not choose to run away.Another significant moment of imperfection in Aang can be traced to The Deserter.After hearing about the renowned and defected firebending master Jeong Jeong, Aang elects to seek him out to see if he will teach him firebending. Jeong Jeong is rightfully distrustful of this notion, seeing how Aang is jumping too far ahead in not mastering water and earth first.He reluctantly relents and is predictably correct. Aang gets a chance to make his own fire, but he takes it too far and ends up burning Katara.Aang thought it’d be cool (heavy understatement for us Avatar fans) to be able to shoot fireballs out of his fingertips. But his reckless lack of self-control had the consequence of one of his best friends (not just a friend, his romantic crush) being injured, and the trauma of such an event has a lasting effect.He declares he will never firebend again, for fear of unintentionally hurting those around him. At least he managed to twist the lack of self-control facet on Admiral Zhao when he caught up with them, allowing them to escape.Both of these moments highlight Aang’s flawed character. In the first, we see the child refusing destiny, refusing to be the hero the world needs, out of confusion and fright; the textbook reluctant hero. He doesn't want all of this responsibility, he just wants to be a normal kid.In the second, we see a boy forced to grapple with the consequences of his ill-fated actions, and seeing them have a lasting effect on Aang develops his emotional and ideological framework beautifully. He becomes fearful of firebending, or at least performing it himself. We’ll address this point later on.“I wasn’t there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I’m gonna make a difference this time.”(The Siege of the North, Part 1)The running theme of Aang’s character is that of innocence and loss. Or, to be more adult, the loss of his innocence. This is necessary, however, for him to grow and mature into the Fully-Realised Avatar he is by the end of the show.Seeing a character suffer is the one-way ticket for empathic characterisation, establishing a tangible rapport with the audience.Book One explored a lot of Aang’s desire to reclaim the youth he otherwise lost entirely when the war started. He was never given a chance before running away to truly enjoy his standing as a child, being able to laugh and cheer as he rides otter-penguins and elephant koi, before facing up to his responsibility as the world’s arbiter of peace and harmony.Book Two steps things up a notch for all of our main cast, and Aang is no exception. His immature nature is broken down further as he is faced with a variety of obstacles that challenge his physical, emotional and spiritual welfare.From the premiere episode, The Avatar State, Aang has to grapple with the immense power his title grants him. His monumental ability to summon the Avatar State doesn't make him feel like a perfect character who can solve everything.We see that it actually warps this whimsical 12-year-old into a titanic demon, possessed by the voices and knowledge of all his past lives. It transforms him into something inhuman.Once again, Aang has to live with the consequences of going into the Avatar State. He’s terrified both of the great powers he has to potentially wield, and being able to fulfil the responsibility of being the hero that the world needs.Moving forward, Aang’s next attack on his belief system comes from a recently acquired pal: Toph Beifong.Toph and Aang begin his earthbending training in the episode Bitter Work. From Toph’s rather harsh and blunt methods of education, Aang learns through meticulously frustrating effort that, to be an earthbender, one must be immovable, enduring and as equally stubborn as the earth they symbolise.Aang, being an Air Nomad through and through, finds this process especially gruelling. He is working with his natural opposite, both magically and spiritually.Additionally, he fails at placing himself in the path of a rapidly moving obstacle capable of instant death, and he faces off against another beast of similar tastes, managing to blast it away from a trapped Sokka.He sees Toph on the sidelines, having callously let it all played out. Ultimately, it enables Aang to grow a fucking spine and snatch his staff back from the blind girl, letting him stand up to her and unlocking earthbending at last.The great turning point in the series, however, comes midway at the end of the next episode, The Library.Man, this already sucks.Team Avatar travel with Ba Sing Se University anthropologist Professor Zei to find Wan Shi Tong’s library in the Si Wong desert. They manage to do so and recover some invaluable information about an upcoming solar eclipse which nullifies firebending and would allow the Fire Nation to be invaded.However, sandbenders sneak up on Toph outside and capture Appa. The Knowledge Spirit inside tries to sink the building, forcing Toph to hold it up so the gang can escape.And Aang is just… broken.This is arguably Aang’s darkest extreme. To truly get a bearing of it though, you have to understand the depth (and I mean Titanic-resting-place depth) of Aang and Appa’s friendship.*uncontrollable squeals*Appa is the only tangible remnant of Aang's life before the Hundred Year War. Appa represents his entire heritage in the form of the last sky bison. The last original airbender, I might add. Their bond is unyielding. Their friendship is inseparable.So it’s only predictable that when the biggest link to his past is snatched from him, Aang’s loss of his innocence seethes into unbridled fury.He lashes out unfairly at Toph for not trying harder to protect him (when she was barely keeping the Library up), he blasts a mushroom cloud in frustration, he’s unresponsive in finding a way out of the desert, he violently strikes down a buzzard-wasp after it posed no further threat.Then, to cap it all off, the sandbenders from before confront them over their stolen sand glider. It is revealed that one of them put a muzzle on the bison. This pushes Aang beyond boiling point, and he triggers the Avatar State in sheer rage. Only the most stunningly saddening score and Katara’s embrace of empathy calms him down.For the subsequent episode, The Serpent’s Pass, Aang feels guilty that he lost control in such an unbearable state of grief, so he goes to the opposite extreme, choosing apathy. He does not wish to hurt or frighten his friends again, so he shuts down his feelings entirely.Katara, like me, hates seeing the lovable fella this way because this isn’t who Aang is. He’s not the one to give up entirely, especially not on his feelings. Thankfully, he is granted a reprieve when tearfully celebrating the birth of the baby Hope at the end of the episode, enabling him to feel genuinely happy for the first time since he lost Appa.Then the Boomeraang Squad (yeah, Team Avatar is better, sorry) arrive at the Earth Kingdom capital. They come into conflict with Long Feng and the Dai Li, intent on keeping the global war outside the walls a stringent secret. They learn they have captured Appa and are soon reunited with him.“I missed you, buddy.”(Lake Laogai)Imagine if these two were never separated for the entirety of the show. Through the necessary narrative loss of his closest friend, Aang was forced to mature more than most 12-year-olds would in triple the time.We never would have come to understand and invest ourselves in Aang and Appa’s relationship, coupled with their incredibly satisfying reunion, if they weren’t forced apart. It felt as though the family was back together after so long.And just when it was all going right, Appa’s back, Long Feng imprisoned, the Earth King learning of the war and pledging support, it just had to all go wrong.For Christ’s sakes, Avatar, you never let us enjoy ourselves!Whilst Azula sets the stage for Ba Sing Se’s eventual conquering and the climactic finale, Aang is summoned by Guru Pathik to the Eastern Air Temple, with the promise of being able to unlock and master the Avatar State, so Aang can be in total control of it and use it at will.Like I addressed in my critique of The Legend of Korra, these scenes illustrate three things that make The Last Airbender the superior product: they add layers to previously established lore in the worldbuilding, develop a character further and serve to advance the narrative, this one in particularly advancing pretty rapidly to a highly staked crescendo.Aang learns from Guru Pathik that the Avatar State can be manually unlocked if he manages to unlock his chakras. These are concentrated points of energy (chi) in the body. Once they are all unlocked, one becomes spiritually enlightened. Aang is able to progress through all of them quite well, until the last one: the thought chakra.This one deals with the pure cosmic energy of the universe, and is blocked by earthly attachment. Previously, Pathik acknowledged that Aang was justified to find love in Katara as a reincarnation for the collective love of his people.This time, Aang needs to let go of Katara completely, in order to unlock both the chakra and the Avatar State. He of course objects to the notion, because he is head over heels for Katara, and hates the idea of having to let go of her to “feel cosmic energy”.He tries to do so, but sees a vision of Katara imprisoned by Azula, so he hastily rushes off back to Ba Sing Se, despite Pathik’s warning that the chakra remains locked and he will not be able to go into the Avatar State at all.Now we get to arguably the most tense and climactic episode in the whole show: The Crossroads of Destiny.This is truly The Empire Strikes Back moment of the show. Everyone in our main cast is converging on the Earth Kingdom capital. Azula and the Dai Li are steps away from conquering the whole city, and they corner Aang and Katara in the Crystal Catacombs. The stakes are raised even higher when they see Zuko make his fatal mistake and choose to side with Azula.Outnumbered, outgunned, surely seconds from defeat, Aang makes the last resort and meditates to trigger the Avatar State. But, whether Azula knew what to do or not, she doesn't stand back and be overwhelmed. She has a shot and she decisively takes it.Luckily, the GOAT gangsta Iroh buys Katara enough time to escape with Aang’s body. She later manages to bring him back with her Spirit Water gifted to her by Pakku in the Book Two premiere.How does this build-up and climax continue to develop Aang as a character? Someone we can still continue to be attached to? Both of these elements work (seeing him fail to protect Ba Sing Se and seeing him almost killed), but it is the aftermath of this episode’s events, later explored in the Book Three premiere, The Awakening, where it gets interesting.Book One was the show’s story of discovery of both the world and characters. Book Two was the show’s story of change that the characters and world needed to face (inevitably for the worse) to eventually be reconciled and balanced in Book Three, the show’s story of redemption.After his failure to protect Ba Sing Se, allowing the capital to finally fall to the Fire Nation, Aang licks his wounds and internalises the shame of that failure entirely on himself. With all of this responsibility as the world’s only hope for true balance and peace, he self-centredly declares that it is a lone effort and he failed.Because that is the reality. The villains won this round. It resulted in Aang’s worst defeat. He was even nearly killed. Then nobody would have stopped Ozai’s eventual wrath with Sozin’s Comet.“I need to redeem myself. I need my honour back.”Despite knowing the invasion will still go ahead, Aang also has to grapple the fact that the world thinks he is dead for a “second” time. Truthfully, Azula herself had no way of knowing if he somehow actually survived (resulting in her rightful suspicion and ulterior scapegoating of Zuko for such an event), but the world would surely believe it.Of course, Aang hates that idea. He doesn’t feel secure in trying to save the world if it thinks he’s already dead. It cements the fact that he did fail. It pushes him to a head later in the episode where he grabs his glider and flies away to the Fire Nation, determined to avenge his failure and not put his friends in harms way to fix his mistakes. He gets caught in an intense storm and laments to a vision of Roku that he feels he has failed as the Avatar.“But everyone thinks I’m dead again. They think I’ve abandoned them, and I’m losing this war. I’m letting the whole world down.”(The Awakening)But with Roku and Yue’s encouragement, Aang finds the will to keep going and drive himself out of the storm. The Gaang reunite and go off into the Fire Nation together.The majority of Book Three goes off with a few hiccups, Team Avatar infiltrating the Fire Nation and prepping for the invasion. Then they do it and of course the rug is pulled out under them since Azula knew about it when the Earth King let it slip to her.Team Avatar are forced to retreat to the Western Air Temple, and they’re left with the ‘old plan’: Aang masters the four elements and defeats the Fire Lord. But… he needs a firebending teacher.“Hello. Zuko here.”Yeahhhh, it goes about as well as you’d expect.This seems like a great time (for me, not for you brave, compassionate mortals slugging through this answer) to quickly address one of the show’s greatest testaments to its character development and writing: the parallelism between Aang and Zuko.Why do I now bring him up? For one thing, duality. One does not simply talk about Aang and ignore the other side of the coin: Zuko.Zuko is almost arguably the co-central protagonist of The Last Airbender. He just happens to start off as a purely antagonistic force. I wouldn’t say he’s an outright villain, as Admiral Zhao fulfils that role perfectly enough to warrant the audience’s sympathy for the banished prince.On the other hand, Zuko and Aang experience growth and challenge to their respective characters in much the same way. Aang must master the elements before the Comet arrives; Zuko must capture the Avatar to regain his ‘honour’. Aang grieves for the loss of his entire culture; Zuko fervently longs for his father’s acceptance. Zuko has to deal with the sudden and saddening absence of his mother; Aang must suffer the loss of his pet bison. Zuko mistakenly thinks he has regained his honour in the Book Three premiere whereas Aang genuinely thinks he has lost it.By going through their own respective journeys of sacrifice, choice and struggle, Aang and Zuko blossom into the matured and heroic characters we come to see them as towards the show’s end.We come to understand both of them as “an idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honour”. Where they started out as this:They eventually found a way to behave like this:Where once they fought against each other, they end with an embrace of true friendship. Aang and Zuko are certainly the metaphorical reincarnation of their past selves in Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, respectively.Their spiritual ancestors (Zuko quite literally descended from both his paternal and maternal great-grandfathers) finding a way to reconcile their differences where they were once divided, but are now united.Getting back on track, there are two major instances in the final book which take Aang a little further to truly challenge him once more, encouraging his growth and acceptance of his identity, which cements his status as my favourite character.The first is in The Firebending Masters.Aang and Zuko begin their firebending training, but Zuko finds that even his firebending has grown weaker for some reason. They deduce he is no longer fuelled by anger or his desire to capture Aang, losing his ‘inner fire’, and needs an alternative solution.Aang and Zuko venture out to the Sun Warrior ruins, hoping to find the original source of firebending. They make contact with the tribe, believed to be extinct, who are persuaded to let the pair follow a ritual which culminates in this:They meet the masters, Ran and Shaw, who happen to be the last living dragons in existence. Sozin started the tradition of hunting dragons at the beginning of the war. Being the original and ultimate firebenders, if one could be conquered, that person’s abilities would be considered legendary, earning them the title of ‘Dragon’.The last person to face the dragons was Zuko’s uncle, Iroh. However, instead of killing them like he told the world, he lied and kept the dragons’ existence a secret, finding true wisdom in the original way of firebending.Ran and Shaw deem the Fire Prince and the Avatar worthy, and encase them in a multicoloured spiral of the most beautiful fire ever created.This whole sequence is just amazing, but what seals its incredible catharsis is what it does for both of our characters.For Zuko, it enables introspection. He is mature enough to reflect on why his ability to firebend was twisted and warped by a imperialistic and toxic culture, distorting the art form to be powered by anger and desire, and be viewed by non-firebenders as a source of frightening power and devastating destruction.He accepts that it was wrong of him to hunt Aang as a means of enabling his abilities, and finds himself endowed with a new, better, purpose, of helping Aang and bringing balance to the world.For Aang, it enables positive change. For so long, Katara’s accidental burning traumatised the monk. It made him fearful of the bending discipline. Coupled with Jeong Jeong’s jaded words to the discipline, it depicts firebending as the universal tragedy and point of blame for all that is wrong in the world.In this instance, however, the dragons and the Sun Warriors teach Aang the truest way of firebending. It is life, energy and harmony in the form of flame. Only those that wish its use for evil purposes deserve their title of savagery.Fire is beautiful. Aang comes to properly understand and appreciate the beauty of something he was once so timid about. When he firebends properly for the first time, his face is split in a wide and ecstatic grin, finally accepting the ability to be empowering, not dehumanising.And lastly, I can’t talk about the conclusion of Aang’s development without mentioning a significant aside in The Southern Raiders.Whilst the majority of the episode focuses on Katara confronting her grievances about the death of her mother, it doesn’t entirely ignore Aang either. I’ve seen people comment that he comes off as preachy and naïve in telling Katara to forgive Yon Rha, the man who killed her mother.But I think that is untrue. Aang’s Air Nomad philosophy of pacifism and sanctity of life is just brought to the table. Focusing his hate and rage towards a singular entity is something that was culturally appropriated out of him (except for arguably the sandbenders who stole Appa).Forgiveness is not for the sake of our enemies, but for our own healing. You can’t just do nothing about your pain, but that doesn’t justify one’s decision to choose the extreme option.Aang may not entirely see the situation from Katara’s perspective, but he is verbalising his belief of an alternative, a less “bad” option, rather than Zuko’s more blunt and perpetuating option of exacting vengeance to achieve justice.Katara was always there to catch Aang when he experienced unendurable emotional pain and anger. He can see this powerfully hateful desire for “an eye for an eye” is warping Katara’s sense of herself and reality, and he wants to offer a safety net in return.You can very easily choose to do what Katara did and not directly forgive the man who killed Kya (completely understandable), but also learn to forgive yourself and find some way to move past your trauma or pain, as Aang has done.It may not always be possible, but it’s a testament to a person’s constitution to solemnly accept the pain of their losses.Why do I bring this moment up? Well, it’s a perfect set-up for the moral dilemma that truly tests Aang’s philosophical teachings, his beliefs and sense of self.Zuko: You were right about what Katara needed. Violence wasn’t the answer.Aang: It never is.Zuko: Then I have a question for you. What are you going to do when you face my father?It gives Aang pause, looking down and to the side uncertainly. This is the first time he has been asked that, and he does not know what he will do.Now we come to Aang’s ultimate fight for the fate of the world. Moreover, he fights for the fate of his identity.The finale of Sozin’s Comet propagates and builds up the final answer to this monumental question: should Aang kill the Fire Lord?All along, we have been told that the Avatar simply needs to defeat the Fire Lord, where the Fire Lord cannot hope to fight back and reignite conflict, so the war can end peacefully. We never really considered before now whether that justifies the choice of killing Ozai, though.Aang is steadfast in his pacifistic beliefs. He believes that “all life is sacred, even the tiniest spider-fly caught in its own web.” He does not see any value in having to kill the Fire Lord. Yes, he’s a tyrannical monster. Yes, the world would probably be better off without him.“But there’s gotta be another way.”This pretty much sums up Aang’s character. He does not conform to the principles of Occam’s Razor; the simplest solution is always the best. When he’s presented with a path he doesn’t wish to immediately follow, either because it goes against his beliefs or carries the risk of putting himself and his friends in mortal danger, he always tries to find another option, something else that doesn’t have to end in the worst way possible.He knows the Fire Lord must be defeated to preserve balance, but how he goes about it is the more intriguing problem. This is Aang’s thesis: his own perspective of what he believes and how he’d practice it.Sokka and Zuko represent the opposite side, the antithesis. They believe that Ozai embodies all of the Fire Nation’s most toxic and hateful qualities, having been distorted by a century of warfare, and the cycle of war can only be ended with his decisive death. They not only think he has to die, but deserves to, in the name of restoring balance.Enter The Old Masters.Aang is sedately called away to a mysterious island two days before the Comet’s arrival. He decides to meditate and contact his past lives to gain any sort of guidance or advice on his current predicament of being pressured to kill Ozai to end the war.Roku argues he was indecisive in showing mercy to Fire Lord Sozin when it counted and it was taken advantage of. He allowed the war to happen in the first place, and regrets it.Kyoshi believes she would have done whatever it took to stop Chin the Conqueror from enslaving her people. Even though he did fall to his own death, she had no qualms otherwise, and sees that only justice will bring peace.Kuruk admits that he was arrogant and too passive with the handling of his responsibilities as the Avatar in his youth, leading to Koh the Face Stealer snatching his lover Ummi. He believes that Aang must be an active participant in shaping the destiny of the world and himself, where he failed to do so.Yangchen argues that the Avatar’s duty in service to the world is above Aang’s own personal beliefs and duties. He should whatever it takes to protect it as a result.In short, they’re telling him “kill the bastard, you punk ass lil’ bitch.”Then comes along everyone’s favourite criticism of the show: the lion turtle.People hate on this moment and Aang’s eventual use of energybending to strip Ozai of his powers permanently. They critique it for being a “cop-out”, “textbook and egregious deus ex-machina”, “Aang should have killed Ozai”, “energybending wasn’t given any build-up”, “not enough foreshadowing”, “the writers ruined a perfectly good ending”.Firstly, get a hold of yourself. And then, get over yourselves.This is a Goddamn show aimed at children, primarily. All these adult insertions are just that: for adults that want to insert their fantasies to satisfy their egos.Avatar achieves its highest calibre of emotional depth and mature quality in the eyes of the adults by challenging and provoking change and growth in its main characters, whilst still making the tremendous effort into giving each of them a incredibly layered development and cathartic achievement by the end of the show.I will concede that the lion turtles featured very rarely in the show. But they weren’t non-existent. The introduction of energybending (even right before the final boss fight) may feel contrived to some, and the lion turtle just happened to have the right answer for Aang all along and give it to him on a silver platter.But I despise that thinking. Aang actively tried to find an alternative solution to killing Ozai, because he adamantly refused to entertain the thought of having to compromise everything he was taught about life just to satisfy the expectations and dissonant moral and ethical standings of a few.The entire tension of his climactic battle with Ozai stems from the uncertainty of whether or not he actually will have no choice but to kill him. When he’s struck by Ozai’s lightning, he redirects it to the sky even when Ozai is completely defenceless and Aang has a clear shot. This serves to ramp up the tension and increase the quality of the fight.He walked away to search for another method to defeat Ozai, and his search led him to the lion turtle. The reason why he stormed off and meditated later was to search for something else. In the vein of arguing about Aang seeking out the lion turtle in a passive trance, he’s a highly spiritual person, inclined to being controlled. His refusal to kill is what brought the lion turtle to him.The lion turtle heard his spiritual call for help and came to him. Aang’s spiritual affinity responded to the presence of the creature. It appeared in a desperate time of need for one especially special person, so it was premeditated.The lion turtle does not explicitly tell Aang what to do and give him the tools necessary to achieve it, because that really would be contrived. It simply enlightens Aang to the real answer: allowing him the choice to determine what he believes is the right choice to make.“In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements but the energy within ourselves.”Energybending’s formal introduction here doesn’t at worst jarringly contradict the lore and worldbuilding of Avatar’s magic system, either. Its existence is practically unheard of in the World of Avatar, hence why it concurs with the audience’s non-existing prior knowledge of it. Aang is the first Avatar in the world, the first person, to be concretely shown to use it.Bending is in and of itself the ability to force the energy in all physical things (extending to all sub-forms of water, earth, fire and air) to bend to a person’s will through the forms of martial arts. A person’s own chi is a metaphysical presence, something that is invisible, yet tangible, and can extend past a person’s limbs and ‘bend’ the corporeal element in question to suit their purposes.Energybending is the purest distillation of this magic system. It would therefore be entirely plausible for someone, equipped with the necessary knowledge of how to practice it, to be able to consciously tap into another person’s chi, bend it, and result in the granting or relinquishing of their mastery of elemental manipulation.Aang’s spirit was literally and metaphorically challenged when he attempted to energybend Ozai. He stayed true to his own values and identity, proving the lion turtle’s words that “the true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost” and “the true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed.”The real question we should ask isn't whether or not Aang should kill Ozai. We shouldn’t even be asking at the moment whether the man truly deserves to die. We should be asking if Aang’s spirit and his character is strong enough to not only be unbendable, but also prove he is able to make the right choice.What I mean is that Aang’s decision to spare Ozai instead of killing him is the greatest proof you need of Aang’s resolve to stay true to who he is, and that increases his strength as a hero we can relate to, making his character more compelling.His pacifistic, lover of life spirit is challenged and not deconstructed like a more jaded, pessimistic writer would do. Instead, Aang’s resolve to try and at least defeat Ozai without killing him is strengthened.The whole point of the build-up of Ozai as the final boss for the fate of the world and Aang’s journey to master the four elements was so that he could fulfil his destiny as the Avatar: ending the war peacefully.Here, Aang synthesises both the principles of his pacifism and the ‘advice’ of his past lives on being decisive. He doesn’t sacrifice who he is as a person, but he also takes action and doesn’t resort to the most extreme option in order to solve the problem.Killing Ozai would achieve more harm than good in my opinion. Despite Ozai being spared, we see in the comics how the New Ozai Society threatens to upset the balance of peace in the Harmony Restoration Movement.If Aang killed Ozai, there would be a large part of the population genuinely loyal to their overlord that would have risen up in outrage of his martyrdom. Aang’s ability to take away his power and capture him alive is a much more unshakeable and unquestionable defeat.It also resulted in a lasting peace; the world could finally begin the process of healing itself after a hundred years of constant warfare, all because the Avatar still made the more peaceful choice.Additionally, Aang demonstrates his mastery as a Fully-Realised Avatar when he is able to overcome the Avatar State before the killing blow is delivered.The sudden ‘lucky’ unlocking of the defence mechanism was one final test for the boy: will he let absolute power corrupt him absolutely?It’s almost presented as an antagonistic force that Aang unlocks ‘by coincidence’ and serves to create another antagonist to overcome. The Avatar State is the combination of the past Avatars focusing their energy through Aang’s body, and they want to kill Ozai, but Aang doesn’t.This creates an intense power struggle as the boy pursues the Fire Lord. It got him into more trouble than out of it, so to speak, because it was about to compromise everything Aang stood for in its attempt to make Ozai pay for his crimes.Instead of letting his past lives possess him and saying “screw it, if you can’t do it, we will”, Aang was able to prove that he is stronger than his past lives and those who say otherwise by being able to show mercy and not needlessly kill.Honestly, there are quite a few times where elders in the World of Avatar are proven wrong in their more archaic beliefs and sense of morality, as are Aang’s past lives.Violence begets violence. The whole reason why the whole war started was because the will of a single man blinded him to reality and made him believe he and his people were superior to all, so he violently struck out at the world, wishing to see it all bow beneath his feet.Instead of making the decision to do what was easy and choose revenge, Aang made the decision to do what was right and spare Ozai. That is real strength.“No. I’m not gonna end it like this.”Aang retroactively earnt the narrative choice to use energybending to solve the problem because he risked being destroyed by Ozai’s spirit for using it, and he still won. He earnt it by merit of being a 12-year-old pacifist in a more violent world that expects him to become a vengeful god in his pursuit of restoring balance.He earnt it by truly embracing his role as the Avatar (resolving conflicts peacefully) without discarding his own identity.It demonstrates that what the Air Nomads taught him, and what they stand for in general (especially with Aang being the last one in existence at that time), has its own valuable strength, and he’s not about to go against those values just to kill someone.Character growth isn’t limited to a change in beliefs or personality, it can also mean an acceptance of who you are and how that fits with what the world needs you to be. The lion turtle and Aang’s meeting was a way of the universe reaching out to say that it isn’t as cruel and uncaring as it may seem. That there is a place for mercy, made at the right time, and it’s our choice whether or not to go for it.Killing Ozai would have worked just as well for restoring balance to the world, ’tis true. But Aang still managed to stop himself from performing it outside of his own accord. He then decided to risk his life and he still won at the very last second.His will was stronger than Ozai’s illusions of grandeur and poisonous hatred as he displayed his resolve to risk his life to win, save the world and keep his moral integrity intact.It doesn't ‘cheapen’ the story or make it less convincing, because Aang’s ability to solve the world’s biggest problem peacefully (which is why he went on the journey to be the Avatar the world needed in the first place) does not go against what we already know about his character.From highlighting key points previously in the series where Aang was broken down by the obstacles and losses he faced, Aang has already suffered enough. Aang may not have undergone the change you wanted him to experience in this final battle, but that still doesn’t justify its necessity.Aang has still changed and has grown considerably since the pilot episode. Aang always actively tries to find a non-violent solution because it is what he has been taught and he genuinely believes in it. He wouldn’t want to resort to it when he, and more importantly the world at large, has already suffered enough because of it.Just to cap off this massive tangent… really? You want a 12-year-old boy to intentionally murder another person? It would contradict all of the themes, messages, lessons, symbolisms and positive inspirations that the show is renowned for. Get out of here with that.The energybending would have backfired horribly if Aang wasn’t so pure and true in his heart and his ideals. He established his win once he decided to fully commit to his nature, displaying the ultimate conviction is with Aang owning up to his title along with his beliefs.Heck, the first episode is titled The Boy in the Iceberg. He was once this:And the last episode is called Avatar Aang, underlining his completed arc and growth, where he is now this:It’s okay if you disagree with all I have said regarding the final fight, but I’m not going to waste any more time or energy debating it further, being baited by idiots wanting a more elaborate point which they will only just reject and never fully appreciate.You’re entitled to your own opinion about it, as am I. This is it, so deal with it. If it’s a deus ex-machina, it’s certainly a damn well executed one.In summation, Avatar Aang is my favourite character from the show because of these reasons (TL;DR):He is not perfect. His actions have consequences, some of them quite negative, and he has to confront them several times in order to accept them and be able to move past them. His arc was about learning to face up to his immense challenges and his responsibilities, not run away from them.He is compellingly relatable. His stance as the reluctant hero calls for our sympathies because we acknowledge he has to fulfil an insurmountable responsibility in such a condensed time frame, which we as an audience can’t even begin to imagine a fraction of the burden it must bear. He also has to struggle and suffer in his journey, being knocked down but always finding a way to get back up and fight back, or try harder.Alongside these qualities, Aang is such a lovable character. He’s comedic, he’s insightful, he has a sweet tooth for custard tarts, he’s genuinely regretful of his mistakes in his past and to his friends, and he always tries to find a solution that benefits everyone.When it came down to it, Aang stayed true to his beliefs and his morals. He chose to do what he thought was right. It was a colossal gamble, but it paid off, and it concluded his arc in a way that strengthens his own standing as a hero in fiction and sends a pretty powerful message to kids and adults alike. Alternative solutions work. Non-hostile solutions work. So try and think about what options you have, not necessarily resort to the most efficient and ruthless one.That should answer why Avatar Aang is my favourite character in the show (after Zuko, of course).Peace and Love.A short life and a merry one.

International RelationsTrick to Remember G-20 Countries--GURU JI SITA AB SSC FCI ME kaam karti hainG- GermanyU- USAR- RussiaU- U.KJ- JapanI- IndiaS- Saudi ArabiaI- IndonesiaT- TurkeyA- AustraliaA- ArgentinaB- BrazilS- South KoreaS- South AfricaC- CanadaF- FranceC- ChinaI- ItalyM- MexicoE- European unionTrick to Remember ASEAN Countries---Those who pass MBBS watch PTV and buy LIC policy.MBBS PTV LICM- MalaysiaB- BruneiB- BurmaS- SingaporeP- PhillipinesT- ThailandV- VietnamL- LaosI- IndonesiaC- CambodiaTotal= 10 countriesOPEC Countries:NIKE VISA QUILAN- NigeriaI- IndonesiaK- KuwaitE- EcuadorV- VenezuelaI- IranS- Saudi ArabiaA- AlgeriaQ- QatarU- U.A.EI- IraqL- LibyaA- AngolaSCOTRUCK 2 Indiahence member of shanghai cooperation organisation areT-TajikistanR-RussiaU-UzbekistanC-ChinaK-Kyrgystan and KazakhstanIndiaMnemonic for G7 economies:- All G7 countries are wealthy nations. So, they all drink JUICE & have GF (girlfriend).So, its JUICE GF :J- JapanU- USAI- Italy (not India, plz pay attention)C- Canada (not China, plz pay attention)E- England (United Kingdom)G- GermanyF- FranceNote: (i) European Union is also a part of this group which is represented by above mentioned European Countries.(ii) Intially, it was G6, when formed in 1975. Later, in 1976, Canada was added. And again in 1997, Russia was added. So, it became G8. But, due to annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia was suspended and hence it became G7.Chronology: G6 ➖ G7 ➖ G8 ➖G7.SAARC Countries--MBBS PAINM- MaldivesB- BangladeshB- BhutanS- Sri lankaP- PakistanA- AfganistanI- IndiaN- Nepal6 Members of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (Very Imp) :LIMCa TVL- LaosI- IndiaM- MyanmarCa- Cambodia (not China, Pay attention)T- ThailandV- VietnamUN always faces the challenges of world. hence they are FACERSF - FrenchA - ArabicC - ChineseE - EnglishR - RussianS - Spanishthese are official languages of UNHeadquarters of International.Rule 1: If the name of any Organization starts with "World or International" and ends with "Organization", their headquarters will be in "Geneva, Switzerland".[ W_O & I_O ] ---- Geneva, Switzerland[ W_O]World Health OrganisationWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationWorld Trade Organization[ I_O]- Except IMOInternational Labour OrganizationInternational Committee for Red Cross OrganizationInternational Standardization Organization [ISO] ----originally International Organization for StandardizationUnited Nation Conference on Trade And DevelopmentRule 2: Trick for Organizations whose headquarters are in LondonI Am a Common man in LondonI - International Maritime Organization (IMO)Am - Amnesty InternationalCommon - Commonwealth of NationsCommon - Commonwealth Telecommunication OrganizationRule 3: If any Organization is related to "International Money or Monetary organization", its headquarters will be in Washington DC.International Monetary fundWorld BankRule 4: If any Organization is related to "Industrial Development/ Petroleum/ Atomic", its headquarter will be in "Vienna, Austria"United Nations Industrial Development OrganizationInternational Atomic Energy AgencyOrganization of the Petroleum Exporting CountriesRule 5: For Headquarters of Organizations located in Newyork, remember - "UN Child Emergency in New york"UN Child Emergency in New yorkUnited Nations OrganizationUnited Nation International Children Emergency FundRule 6: If any Organization is related to the term "Economic & Educational", its headquarter will be located in ParisOrganization for Economic Co-Operation DevelopmentUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationTrick to Remember the Headquarters of some other International OrganizationsASIAN Development Bank [ ADB ]--MANila, Philippines [ ASIAN MANila ]Association of South East Nations [ ASEAN ]-- JAKarta, Indonesia [ ACE JACK ] --Remember Playing cardsFOOD Agriculture Organisation [ FAO ]--Rome, ITALY [ FOOD IDLY ]International COURT of JUSTICE-- The HAGUE, Netherlands [ Remember COURT given JUSTICE HANGUE ]South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation [ SAARC ]--Khatmandu, NepalHISTORYBuddhas eight fold path --- VISAL CEM (vishal cement)right View, Intention, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Concentration, Effort, Mindfulness ( view, intention , mindfulness also called as faith , thought remembrance)Code of conduct of BuddhaCLIP no Violenceno Corruptionno Liesno usage of Intoxicants, andno to covet the Property of othersMahavira principles and vowsThe three principles of Jainism, also known as Triratnas (three gems), are:KFC- right Knowledge- right Faith- right Conduct.1) Human being start to use C.B.I in sequence..means COPPER,BRONZE and IRON.2) HSBC stands for Harappa,Suktagandor,Banawali ,Chahundaro..! are places shows different -2 stages of growth of Harappa civilization.3) GPRS Harappa civilization’s important places Gujrat,Punjab,Rajasthan, Sind.Ruling Dynasties of Ancient History:HASINA MASHUKA AA.HA- Haryanka DynastySI- Sishunga DynastyNA- Nanda DynastyMA- Maurya DynastySHU- Shunga DynastyKA- Kanwa DynastyAA- Andhra DynastyDelhi Sultanate :Sab Khao Tamatar Sab Lo MazeS = Slave (Mamluk)K = KhiljiT = TughlaqS = SayyidL = LodiM = MughalsBehtar Hota Agar Ja Sakte Agra BhiB= Babur 1526 – 1530H = Humayun 1530 – 1540 1555 – 1556A = Akbar 1556 – 1605J = Jahangir 1605 – 1627S = Shah Jahan 1628 – 1658A = Aurangzeb 1658 – 1707B = Bahadur Shah ZafarAs we know C.P.F(Central Police Force) ,read it like Courage,Peace,Faith.. represent by tri-color respt. From saffron to green..As 'CAB'...(means taxi)..remember it like..C for CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY,A for ADVISOR,B for B.N RAO..means b.n rao was advisor to constituent assembly who prepare draft of constitution.Countries located around the Adriatic Sea (in clockwise direction): "Incredibly Slimy Cockroach Bit My Aunt" (Italia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania).Seven Hills Of Rome : "Can Queen Victoria Eat Cold Apple Pie?" (Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Palatine.Arrival Of European companies in chronological order:Putra ADa Dad FaSa.P = Portuguese (1498)A = Angrej( English) (1600)D = Dutch (1602)D = Dennis (1616)F = French (1664)S = Swedish (1731)Buddhist councils in sequenceRAVA PAKA1-First Buddhist council (c. 400 BCE) - RAjigriha2-Second Buddhist council (c. 4th century BCE) - VAisali3-Third Buddhist council (c. 251 BCE) - PAtaliputra4-The Fourth Buddhist Councils - KAshmirDalhousie made annexations only on weekends i.e. Saturday and Sunday.(Sat and SUN)Sat- SataraS- SambhalpurU- UdaipurN- Nagpurand then JhansiRemember Who fought 1st Anglo-Mysore warMEN vs Hyder ali·M-Maratha·E-English·N- NizamsRemember Kings who followed Buddhism“Bapu Ka hath”· B– Bimbisara· A-Ashoka· P– Prasanjeet· U-Uday sen· Ka- Kaniska· Hath-Harsha vardanaPolityFormation of states in Chronological Order:AaM GuNaH Hi Meg ManTri Si GArMi de sakta haiA = Andhra Pradesh (1953)M = Maharashtra (1960)Gu = Gujarat (1960)Na = Nagaland (1963)H = Hariyana (1966)Hi = Himanchal Pradesh (1971)Meg = Meghalaya (1972)Man = Manipur (1972)Tri = Tripura (1972)Si = Sikkim (1975)G = Goa (1987)Ar = Arunanchal Pradesh (1987)Mi = Mizoram (1987)States With Bicameral SystemKAMBUJTJ – Jammu & KasmirU - Uttar PradeshM - MaharastraB – BiharA – Andhra PradeshK – KarnatakaT - TelanganaRemember the WritsCPM Head Quarters· ‘C’ for Certiorari· ‘P’ for Prohibition,· ‘M’ for Mandamus,· ‘H’ for Habeus Corpus· ‘Q’ for Quo WarrantoLanguages added to 8th schedule under 92nd amendmentB.D.M.S meansBODODOGRIMAITHILISANTHALIRemember Sessions of Lok SabhaB.M.W· Budget (February to May),· Monsoon (June to September)· Winter (November to December).CAMPASCabinet Mission, had members nameP for Pathic lawrenceA for A.V.Alexendarand S for Strafford CrippsEconomicsDirect and Indirect Taxes :a) Indirect Tax:ExCuSe ME SPEx= Excise DutyCu = Customs DutySe = Service TaxM = Motor vehicle taxE = Electricity , Entertainment TaxS = Sales TaxP = Passenger taxb) Direct Tax:WEALTH and PROPERTY gives INCOME as GIFT .Mnemonic for 7 different fields of Rainbow Revolution :AFSPA Fauran HataoAFSPA is u all kno Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Irom Sharmila is fighting to remove it.AFSPA Fauran Hatao :A- AgricultureF- ForestryS- SugarcaneP- PoultryA- Animal HusbandryF- Fishery (Fauran)H- Horticulture (Hatao)8 Core Industries of India :CCC FRENSC- CoalC- Crude OilC- CementF- FertilizersR- Refinery ProductsE- ElectricityN- Natural GasS- SteelFive year plans:(Important Facts From First To Eleventh Five Year Plan)1. First five year plan (1951 -56)SIPCOTS - Social ServiceI - IndustryP - PowerCo - CommunicationT - Transport2. Second Five Year Plan (1956 -61)MADRASM - Mahalanobis ModelA - Atomic Energy CommissionD - Durgapur Steel Company, Tata Inst Of Fundamental ResearchR - Rourkela Steel Company, Rapid IndustrialisationA - AgricultureS - Socialistic Pattern Of Society3. Third Five Year Plan (1961-66)SADS - Self RelianceA - AgricultureD - Development Of Industry4.5. Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79)PSTMP - Poverty EradicationS - Self RelianceT - Twenty Point ProgrammeM - Minimum Need Programme6. Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85)MAILM - ManagementA - Agriculture ProductionI - Industry ProductionL - Local Development Schemes7. Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90)EFGHE - Employment GenerationF - Food grain Production Was DoubledG - Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (1989)H - Hindu Rate Of Growth8. Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97)LPGL - LiberalizationP - PrivatizationG - Globalization9. Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)ESPNE - Employment For Women, SC's And ST'sS - Seven Basic Minimum ServiceP - Panchayat Raj Institutions, Primary Education, Public Distribution SystemN - Nutrition Security10.11. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007 -2012)TEACHERST - Telecommunications (2G)E - Electricity, Environment ScienceA - AnemiaC - Clean WaterH - Health EducationE - Environment ScienceR - Rapid GrowthS - Skill DevelopmentGeographyCountries around Caspian Sea :TARIK (Date)T- TurkmenistanA- AzerbaijanR- RussiaI- IranK- KazakhstanCountries bordering Red Sea :DESSEY :D- DjiboutiE- EritreaS- Saudi ArabiS- Sudan (not somalia: pay attention and keep rem)E- EgyptY- YemenCountries collectively called as Horn of Africa:SEED :S- SomaliaE- EthiopiaE- EritreaD- DjiboutiCountries bordering Black Sea ::So, its GURR BuTG- GeorgiaU- UkarineR- RussiaR- RomaniaBu- BulagariaT- TurkeyCountries bordering Baltic Sea are :RuDe Germany SELL Poland & Finland :Ru- RussiaDe- DenmarkGermanyS- SwedenE- EstoniaL- LatviaL- LithuaniaPolandFinlandRUSSIA is the only country which borders three different land locked seas :BBCBlack SeaBaltic SeaCaspian SeaRivers north west India"In June Cars Run Bit Slow"IndusJhelumChenabRaviBeasSatlujCities Of Australia When Moving In Clockwise DirectionB.S.C M.A. PhDB risbaneS ydneyC anberraM albourneA delaideP erthD arwinLength of Boundary India Shares In Decreasing OrderBACHPANBangladesh China Pakistan NepalSeven Sister States:ATM ANa Money MilegaA = Arunachal PradeshT = TripuraM = MeghalayaA = AssamNa = NagalandM = ManipurMi = MizoramImportant fold mountains:U ARe A HimalayaU - Ural MountainA - Alps MountainR - Rocky MountainA - Andes MountainH- Himalaya.All important tributaries of Ganga:GoRa Ghaghara K BaG M PunYa SoTa :GoRa Ghaghara K BaG M ---- These are left bank tributariesPunYa SoTa---- These are right bank tributariesGo- GomatiRa- RamgangaGhagharaK- KoshiBa- BagmatiG- GandakM- MahanandaPun- PunpunYa- YamunaSo- SonTa- TamsaAll important tributaries of Godavari :ShiBa KaKa Sab TIPPu --- Left bank tributariesShi- ShivanaBa- BangangaKa- KadvaKa- KadamSab- SabariT- TaliperuI- IndravatiP- PranhitaPu- PurnaSiPra MaMa Ki DaNa---- Right bank TributariesSi- SindphanaPra- PravaraMa- MajiraMa- ManairKi- KinnerasaniDa- DarnaNa- NasardiTropic of Cancer Passes through eight states:West Me Gujarat Rajasthan, Mujhe Jharkhand Chahiye Tha.W- West BengalM- Madhya PradeshG- GujaratR- RajasthanM- MizoramJ- JharkhandC- ChhattisgarhT- TripuraFive Great lakesHOMES· H for Huron.· O for Ontario.· M for Michigan.· E for Erie.· S for Superior.Lakes according to their flow from West to East“Super Man Helps Every One”· S is for Superior.· M is for Michigan.· H is for Huron.· E is for Erie.· O is for Ontario.OceansPAISA· P-Pacific· A-Arctic· I-Indian· S-Southern Ocean(Antarctic Ocean)· A-AtlanticTaxonomy“Keep Pots Clean, Otherwise Family Gets Sick.”· Kingdom· Phylum· Class· Order· Family· Genus· SpeciesNational aquatic animal ganges dolpjin is found in 7 states they are BMWRAJUB - BiharM - Madhya PradeshW - West bengalR - RajasthanA - AssamJ - JharkandU - Uttar PradeshKyotowe all know that those supporting the cause for curtailing pollution are a MINORITYHence under KYOTO NCMs(national commission for minorities) has been set upand sponsored by HPN-NitrogenC-carbon dioxideM-MethaneS-Sulphur hexaflourideH-HydroflourocarbonP-perflouro carbonthese are gasses monitored under kyoto protocolUKUK is made of WINESW- WalesIN- Ireland northE- EnglandS- ScotlandFor Tropical( Kharif) CropsCo Ba Ma ki Tu Jo Ri (Cobama ki Tujori)Cotton, Bajra, Maize, Tur, Jowar, RiceFor Temperate ( Rabi) Crops):Whe Ba G Ra M ( Vibha Garm)Wheat , Barley , Gram, Rapeseed, MustardTropical Evergreen Trees:R E M A (Rema)Rosewood, Ebony, Mahogany, AiniSemi Evergreen:C H K (check)cedar, hallock, KailTropical Deciduous Dry:P A K ka T A B ela ( Pak ka Tabela)Palas, amaltas, Khair, Tendu, Axlewood , BelTropical Deciduous Moist:SSS AT ( Three Sat)Sandalwood, Sal, Shisham, Amla, TeakConventions and Protocols:Ramsar Convention- wetlandsBonn Convention- On migratory birdsVienna Convention- Ozone layerMontreal Protocol- Ozone layerMinamata Convention- MercuryGeneva Protocol- Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of WarfareStockholm Convention- Persistant Organic pollutants(POP)Rotterdam Convention- Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain hazardous Chemicals and PesticidesBasel Convention- Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their DisposalReports published by International Institutions:. World Bank(WB)Ease of Doing BusinessWorld Development ReportLogistics Performance IndexEase of Living Index[WB- Warren Buffett. THE Warren BuffettSince he's a business tycoon-> so DOES his BUSINESS EASILY due to his great influence; EASILY LIVES HIS life since money can buy happiness; transports goods to customers easily(LOGISTICS) buy buying ships,aeroplanes,ola cab, uber cab that PERFORM exceptionally well, since too much money dawg!, no one disappoints him ; all this purchase helps him in creating jobs hence less poverty-> WORLD DEVELOPS]IMF(International Monetary Fund)World Economic OutlookGlobal Financial Stability ReportFiscal Monitor[IMF-> I M Fucked.So what do I do to change my situation? LOOK for ECONOMIC opportunities that could get me quick money(start playing poker). Once I get good at it, my FINANCIAL condition becomes STABLE and I start purchasing shit I don't need to impress people that I don't like. Too much transactions without paying taxes creates doubt in governments mind, so they start MONITORING my FISCAL transcations hence catching me because they can and making me pay my debts just like lannisters]. World Economic Forum(WEF)Global Competitiveness ReportTravel and Competitiveness ReportGender Gap IndexGlobal Risk ReportGlobal Information Technology Report[WEF-> WifeWives vs Wives -> COMPETITION between various wives in terms of getting at the top of economic ladder,dressing sense etcImagine anyone's wife. Let it be Genelia.Genelia loves TRAVELLING to new places with his hubby Ritesh Deshmukh but since he is always busy in politics and making movies, she decides to travel alone. She goes to rural households, encounters the GENDER GAP prevailing in rural household(4 boys to 1 girl and girl child getting less food as compared to girls) and also sees the vast RISKS involved in maintaing a poor house with no chimney->harmful gases inhaled. She decides to complain about it and passes the INFORMATION to TECH-giants like Google to spread awareness about it.]. International Energy Agency(IEA)World Energy OutlookSouth Asia Energy OutlookWorld Energy Investment[IEA-> Energy Agency->ONGCWhat does ONGC do? ONGC LOOKS to exploit new ENERGY resources to create Indian optimus prime and bumblebee.They go to SOUTH ASIA as too much terrorism in west and middle east. Plus they love momos.They found yellow metal cake(uranium) instead of oil(ENERGY) and started INVESTING in South Asia and start mining in their fields]. International Labour Organisation(ILO)World Employment DataSocial Outlook ReportBasic Needs Approach[ILO-> Labours Organisation.Labours of different organisation organise and form union, hence their number increase and too much DATA on their EMPLOYMENT stats(chaiwala,panwala) as they are from different company, shops, paan waa, chai wala etc.By organising their union they can demand for their rights more effectiveley and become more SOCIALLY active and LOOK out for each other. What kind of rights they demand? Since they are poor so they only demand small BASIC NEEDS of life like food,electricity to be met and then they can think about the pretentious needs of prevailing upper middle-class.]. World Wide Fund(WWF)Living Planet Report[WWF->wrestling.Since the wrestlers are the most fit with their 6-pack abs so they are sent first to space exploration to look for a LIVING PLANET and fight with them bare handed first, bazooka later.]Key for any answer on Environment in mains → MC-FACTRM: Mitigation (Kyoto/Paris/Mitigation CO2/GHG/Ozone/Montreal/Kigali/HCFCs/HFCs/Euro/Bharat Emission norms/Aviation climate deal/Fly Ash reuse)C: Capacity Building (National Solar Mission/Green Grid/Green Corridor/Sendai Framework)F: Finance (GCF/GEF/CDM/CC/Climate International Fund (WB)/BioFin/Addis Ababa Action Agenda (SDG)/Carbontax Green Bonds/Green Masala bonds/Coal Cess/Polluters Pay Principle/CAMPA Fund)A: AdaptationNAPCC (National Action Plan for Climate Change) → SEHWAG HK· S: National Solar Mission· E: National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency· H: National Mission on Sustainable Habitat· W: National Water Mission· A: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture· G: National Mission for a Green India· H: National Mission for the Himalaya Ecosystem· K: National Mission on Strategic Knowledge Climate ChangeEnergy Conservation Building Code (GRIHA)Urban Waste Management/RecyclingPower Production from waterElectronic VehicleIncentives for use of Public transportsWater use efficiency through pricingAfforestation - GM/Drought resistance cropsC: Commitment (NDCs (Paris)/ SDGs/BRoSM/Basel/Rotterdam/ Stockholm (PoP)/Minamata/ RE TargetT: Technology Transfer - CDM/GEFR: Review -> Periodic Review (Update Target/Check Progress/Course Correction/ Capability & Capacity Building)PATNA : To remember Missiles under integrated program.PrithviAgniTrishulNagAkash