The Cultures of Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Since Katara was forced to take on a traditionally maternal role at an early age, I'd like to think her favorite Water Tribe dishes are the ones that are quick and easy to prepare. I also feel that Katara would be fond of the few fruits and edible greens available in the arctic, as it brings back fond memories of foraging with her mother and grandmother during the warmer seasons.

Sea Prunes (Entire 1st Row)- Katara doesn't express many food preferences in the show, but she seemed pretty enthusiastic about eating sea prunes, so I assume it's a meat she enjoys. Sea prune is another name for the black katy chiton, a type of mollusk. Their shells are dark and leathery, earning them nicknames like "sea prune" and "gumboot". Sea prunes are a traditional protein source for many indigenous peoples in Alaska and western coastal Canada. I think Katara would enjoy them sauteed with Chinese (Earth Kingdom) five-spice or tossed with seal oil in a kelp salad.

Suaasat - A Greenlandic Inuit soup. It traditionally consists of a thick broth made of seal meat, barley, onions, and potatoes. I'd like to think that she likes any dish where you can just throw all the ingredients in a pot and feed a lot of people fast.

Boiled Crab - She likes crabs because they're relatively easy to catch and even easier to cook. You just boil them and crack them open!

Pitsik - Dried Arctic Char. Like crab, she enjoys the simplicity of preparing it. You simply fillet the fish with its skin on, score and salt the flesh, hang the char to let the arctic winds airdry it, and you have a delicious jerky-like snack! They are also rather visually striking when you hang them up.

Akutaq - Meaning "mixed together" in Inupiat and Yupik, this dish is traditionally made with whipped fat, boiled fish, and berries. Commonly used berries include cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, bearberries, and crowberries. A sweet and savory meal that Katara and her mother probably used to make together.

Suvalik - If akutaq is “Arctic Ice Cream”, then suvalik is “Arctic Fruit Salad”. It’s traditionally comprised of emulsified fish eggs and seal oil mixed with berries. It’s described as creamy and sweet. This dish is known in Yupik culture as qerpertaq.

Bannock - Also called palauga in some Inuit dialects and alatiq in Yupik. Bannock is an unleavened flatbread found throughout North American indigenous culture. Since the flour has to be imported all the way from the Earth Kingdom, it was a rare treat for Katara growing up. She also likes how easy it is to make.

For more Water Tribe dishes, check out my Cultural Cuisine tag.

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Another long-scroll post ahead!

As always, I just want to say that I know very little about the technical aspects of most martial arts so take these analyses with a grain of salt. These are just surface-level comparisons I’m making based off what I’ve researched on the internet. If you practice any of these martial arts, feel free to elaborate or correct me on any details.

Watching compilations of Ty Lee’s fight scenes, it seems that her style varies depending on the opponent.

White Crane Fist

Generally, if she’s confident that she has the upper-hand, she appears to use White Crane Fist (白鶴拳). This is most apparent during her 2-against-1 fight with Katara and every fight she has with Sokka.

The most obvious indication that Ty Lee is using White Crane Fist would be the “beak hands” or gōu shǒu (钩手) she often employs when fighting. As you might have guessed, White Crane Fist seeks to imitate the movements of a crane, particularly its sharp pecks.

However, when her opponent is at a distance from her, she’ll extend her reach by using “sword fingers” instead of “beak hands”. Sword fingers are used for lightning generation and Azula often uses them for firebending as well, so it’s might have been a technique that Ty Lee picked up from the Fire Princess.

According to this website, Crane Fist emphasizes circular movements, grace, and subtlety. The style also requires strong balance, reach, agility, and speed over brute force— all qualities of Ty Lee. Finally, Crane Fist frequently targets the tender spots of the body, hence why Ty Lee often aims for the rib cage or armpits when she fights. It also explains why Ty Lee was not prepared when Sokka countered one of her strikes with his exceptionally hard head. All in all, never challenge Ty Lee to a tickle fight.

According to oral tradition, White Crane Fist was invented by a woman named Fang Qiniang (方七娘), who combined her training in Shaolin Kung Fu with the movements of the white crane to create a new martial art. This makes the style especially appropriate for Ty Lee, as Shaolin is also the fighting style of the Fire Nation. Plus, Ty Lee is a very girlish character so it fits her personality to use a style invented by a woman.

Phoenix Eye Fist

When Ty Lee is disadvantaged in a fight, usually when facing armored opponents, she switches to Phoenix Eye Fist (凤眼拳).

Depending on the source, Phoenix Eye Fist is either a separate style descended from White Crane or simply techniques within White Crane. Either way, the two styles are very similar. The most obvious difference between White Crane and Phoenix Eye are the ways the hands are held: Crane uses a “beak hand”, while Phoenix Eye uses a one knuckle punch (a fist with the fore-knuckle extended).

The advantage of the Phoenix Eye Fist is that it focuses all of your power into a single hard point, giving each blow greater strength and impact. As a result, Phoenix Eye Fist techniques often focus on strikes to the spine, in addition to the usual “soft spots” (throat, groin, etc.) targeted in White Crane.

While I’ve never practiced either style, Phoenix Eye seems a bit more vicious than White Crane, considering all the spinal attacks. It makes sense that Ty Lee usually only uses this technique when her opponent’s back is covered in armor. Nonetheless, digging your knuckle into people’s spines with all the force of a punch is really brutal. Ty Lee is easily the scariest non-bender in Avatar.

If you’d like to see a real-life demonstration of White Crane Fist and Phoenix Eye Fist, click here.

Additional Thoughts

1. Maybe Ty Lee’s gravity defying leaps are meant to emphasize her bird-like fighting style? Also, Ty Lee’s use of circular movements and tendency to get behind people in a fight does add credence to the “Ty Lee has Air Nomad ancestry” fan theory.

2. She also uses Phoenix Eye Fist hands when she fights a non-armored Suki at the Boiling Rock, though she never lands her signature spine jabs. I wonder if Ty Lee’s use of a more brutal style means that Suki was just that much of a threat or if she was fighting that way to appease Azula, who would not approve of her showing mercy during a fight.

Her variety of styles is also another indication that Ty Lee was never a very villainous antagonist, as she only ever uses as much force as necessary to take down an opponent. Jeong Jeong would very much approve of her self control.

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Wanted to do a post on real life arctic tools and weapons that I’d love to see the Water Tribe using. This will be a three-part series.

Ulu Knives

Probably the most well-known of Inuit tools due to their unique shape. It’s an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Iñupiat, Yupik, and Aleut women. It’s utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child’s hair, and slicing food. It could also be used as a punch knife. Traditionally, it was made with a handle of caribou antler, muskox horn or walrus ivory with a slate cutting surface. Nowadays, the blade is commonly made of steel. I think it’d be cool if Katara always carried one on her for emergencies and Sokka occasionally borrowed it to touch up his undercut.

Cable-Backed Bows

Also called Pisiksi in North Slope Iñupiaq. A cable-backed bow is a bow reinforced with twisted cables; the cables strengthen the bow and increase its power. These bows were utilized by both Inuit and Inupiat hunters; they used sinew cables on bows of baleen, horn, or antler to make them less likely to break from tension and give them greater spring. I love the distinct look of Copper Inuit bows (pictured above), as they’re like the diametric opposite of traditional Korean bows in shape.

Kakivak Spears

Kakivaks are three-pronged fishing spears with backward-facing barbs. Specifically, the outer prongs have their own “teeth” which point toward the center prong. The teeth are meant to hold the fish on to the main prong to stop it from falling off or wiggling away. These spears are primarily used by Canadian Inuit. It would probably really hurt to get stabbed in the arm or leg by one of these.

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While the Fire Nation’s culture gets the most development out of the four nations, their world-building isn’t always entirely consistent. For example, the series experiments with a quite few different forms of greeting for the empire during ATLA’s three seasons. I’ll try to cover all of these unique gestures in three posts.

Wushu Baoquan Li + Bak Mei Li

By Book 3, ATLA had finally settled on a torch-like hand gesture paired with a bow as the standard greeting of the Fire Nation (and the Sun Warriors). This courtesy is likely inspired by two different martial art customs:

Wushu Baoquan Li (武术抱拳礼), which literally translates to “Martial Arts Fist-Covering Custom”, is better known in the English-speaking world as the “Kung-Fu Salute”. As its name implies, it’s a common greeting among Chinese martial artists and a show of respect. The custom consists of a right-handed horizontal fist covered by a open-palmed, straight-fingered left hand. The hand gesture is demonstrated in the bottom color photo.

There are many different explanations for how this gesture came to be. Some say it’s a symbol of peace and trust, as it’s meant to show that the martial artist is not holding any weapons. Others say the fist and open palm represent opposing elements that create a cohesive whole. The fist represents the moon, the tiger, and physical strength; the open palm represents the sun, the dragon, and wisdom.

Bak Mei Li (白眉礼) is a custom unique to Bak Mei practitioners. This gesture is performed by using the left hand to make a vertical fist with the knuckles pointing forward and positioning the open-palmed right hand above the fist. The hand gesture is demonstrated in the bottom black-and-white photo. The martial art was said to be invented by and named after a monk known as Bak Mei, meaning “White Eyebrows”. According to legend, he was a monk who betrayed his peers by teaching Qing soldiers his style of martial arts and aiding the Qing imperial army in destroying the Shaolin Temple in Henan.

Like the Kung-Fu Salute, the standard Fire Nation greeting involves a right-handed fist and a left-handed open-palm. However, the torch-like shape of the hand positioning more closely resembles the Bak Mei salute. In terms of cultural significance, both salutes are relevant inspirations for the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation version of the Kung-Fu Salute positions the sun-and-dragon hand above the moon-and-tiger fist, which is fitting for a culture descended from the Sun Warriors. The parallels between the standard Fire Nation greeting and the Bak Mei Li might be in reference to the Fire Nation’s similar history of killing monks and destroying temples. Either way, it’s very fitting that the most militant of the four nations would have a greeting so deeply rooted in combat.

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The Southern Water Tribe (SWT) is more strongly inspired by Inuit cultures than the Northern Water Tribe. For SWT food, I’ll be drawing from Inuit, Inupiat, Yupik, and Greenlandic cuisine.

Akutaq

Also known as Alaskan Ice Cream, this is probably the most well-known Inupiat and Yupik dish. Akutaq (Yupik and Inupiat for for “mixed together”) is traditionally made with whipped fat, boiled fish, and berries. Commonly used berries include cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, bearberries, and crowberries. A common variation of akutaq replaces the animal fat with shortening, leaves out the fish, and adds sugar to make it closer to a conventional ice cream dessert.

Suvalik

If akutaq is “Arctic Ice Cream”, then suvalik is “Arctic Fruit Salad”. It’s traditionally comprised of emulsified fish eggs and seal oil mixed with berries. It’s described as creamy and sweet. This dish is known in Yupik culture as qerpertaq.

As a side note, fish eggs are really good for you! They’re rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K2, as well as Omega fatty acids. In many native cultures, fish eggs are sun-dried and stored for consumption all throughout the year. The eggs are given to women to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and happy, well-nourished babies. In Alaska, Tlingit mothers feed salmon eggs to their infants at eight to nine months of age as one of their first solid foods.

Seal Oil

Seal oil is rendered seal blubber. It is a common ingredient and condiment among all Inuit and Yupik peoples. Seal oil can be used fresh or fermented. It can also be used as a dipping sauce for dried meats.

Willow (Uqpik & Sura)

Willow is a valuable food plant in the vegetation-scarce Alaskan tundra. Their young leaves, known as qimmirut in Inupiat, are seven to ten times higher in vitamin C than oranges. These leaves are soft and mellow in texture and taste. They can be eaten raw, dipped or preserved in seal oil, used to flavor meats and stews, or made into a tea. The young shoots (natatquq) are tender and rich in vitamins, as well. Finally, the willow’s inner bark (misruq) is said to be juicy and sweet, tasting somewhat like watermelon. Depending on the dialect, uqpik can refer to willows in general or feltleaf willows, specifically. Sura refers specifically to diamond willow.

Labrador Tea

Labrador Tea (Rhododendron Groenlandicum) is a low, evergreen shrub that can be found in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The leaves of the shrub are distinct for being green on top and orange on the underside. These leaves are what get steeped in hot water to create the medicinal tea. The tea is said to help prevent diabetes by significantly reducing blood glucose levels. In Inuktitut, it’s called mamaittuqutik. According to @smashesbutterflies444, the tea is called ayuq in Yupik. I can imagine Uncle Iroh enjoying ayuq after overindulging on some roast duck. ^_^

Bannock

Bannock is an unleavened flatbread found throughout North American Native culture, including in Inuit/Inupiat and Yupik cuisine in Alaska and Canada. It is called palauga in some Inuit dialects and alatiq in Yupik. Its most basic ingredients are flour, fat, and water. Traditionally, the ingredients are mixed together and cooked on a flat stone above an open fire— although pans and ovens are now more common. In the ATLAverse, I imagine the flour would come from trade with the Earth Kingdom.

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Oh, this will be a fun question to answer! I'll make this an ongoing series for as many characters as I can think of.

Favorite Foods: Aang

Seeing as Aang has always loved traveling the world on Appa, he strikes me as someone who prefers food he can easily carry and eat while in the air. He's more a snack guy than a meal guy, is what I'm saying. He's also shown to be very fond of egg custard tarts and fruit pies, so I assume he also really likes rich desserts. With these considerations in mind, here's Aang's food board:

Momos - Tibetan stuffed dumplings. They're easy to carry around and eat on the go. Plus, they share a name with everyone's favorite flying lemur. I think Aang's favorite momo filling would be cheese with mushrooms or veggies.

Shom-Dae - Tibetan rice pudding. It's made by mixing fresh steamed rice with yogurt and sugar. Tibetan yogurt is made from yak milk, so it's very rich in fat content. Yogurt is so beloved in Tibet that it even has its own festival there, called Sho Dun.

Bhatsa Marku - A cheesy dessert pasta from Tibet. The primary ingredients are gnocchi-like noodles, dried yak cheese, butter, and sugar. I've also seen non-dessert versions comprised of the gnocchi noodles with mushrooms and butter. I think Aang would love both.

Chhurpi - A rock-hard cheese traditional to the Himalayas. It's typically a yak cheese that has been smoked and dried to remove all the moisture content. This allows it to be easy to carry and transport, as it can remain mold-free and edible for up to 20 years. One cube of chhurpi can be chewed on for hours, as it takes quite a while for the cheese to soften in the mouth.

Ngarchur - A dried Tibetan sweet cheese made from boiled yogurt. Like chuurpi, it's keeps well and is easy to transport, although it's not hard.

Khapse - Tibetan fried dough. Depending on how you shape the dough, it can be crunchy like chips or soft like youtiao.

Sanga Balep - A crispy Tibetan pastry covered in powdered sugar. Not much to say other than it looks really satisfying to eat.

I also have a series on possible Air Nomad cuisine here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

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Hey! uhm.. i hope its okay to link some of my previous ask with similar question i replyed to in the past.

Link, link, link, link <-this one comes with a wonderful addition

my method didn't change and its not like there are specific link or sources that always include everything. not that it is what you ask anon. but a lot what i do is like... fact matching and checking. or watch tutorials on youtube by typing ing "how to get dressed as a buddhist monk in indonesia" and watch the video.

the steps are like: 1. wikipedia for base knowledge 2. find a museum who exihbits the item of clothing i am interested in or find a travel blog/forum/guide that shares the cluture. when it comes to indiginous people they do have their own websites more often (but some of my previous link's are now offline sorry. and tbh i never safe links i just... type in the search bar what i want and it spits out museums archives or travel blog information and such) 3. never underestimate the wast knowledge within reddit post when it comes to armor discussion. (please go the extra mailt o fact check just to be safe) 4. there are people on youtube that dedicate their freetime in educating and sharing their culture with the world link, link, link, link,

i want to emphasize... its not jut the item of clothing. but its the whole enviorment and history around it that should be looked at. because it all connects. which can make research sometimes a bit extensive. but its fun to me!

when it comes to atla characters redesign. good starting point is and will always remain @atlaculture. i owe them like... theoretically.... nearly everything i make so big thanks to them and all the time and effort they put in their blog!

Aww, thanks, Chip! Seeing amazing re-designs like yours also motivates me to keep writing more. ^_^

Your Khmer Fire Nation fanart is genuinely so meaningful to me. It's not often that I see that part of my heritage depicted with such detail and skill, especially by a non-Khmer person!

In “The Beach”, Zuko brings Mai a scoop of a pink dessert served in a paper cone. Based on the Fire Nation’s cultural influences and Mai’s sarcastic response of “really refreshing” when he drops one, I think Zuko brought the two of them some shaved ice. Shaved ice is a popular desert throughout all of Asia, with each country having its own take on the treat and different toppings. In its most basic form, shaved ice is finely crushed frozen water or milk flavored with a sweet syrup. If I had to guess, the shaved ice that Zuko bought was probably guava flavored.

Since this post is pretty plain, click below to see pictures of different shaved ices throughout Asia.

Six years ago, I replied to a post about money in ATLA. However, while I was able to cover many aspects of Chinese currency history, I still couldn't find a solid exchange rate between gold, silver, and copper. Welp! I've finally found what I've been looking for.

I just came across this piece of information on the Wikipedia article for Sycee (Chinese ingots):

During the Tang dynasty, a standard bi-metallic system of silver and copper coinage was codified with 10 silver coins equal to 1,000 copper cash coins.

The source for this tidbit of information comes from the book, The Stewart Lockhart Collection of Chinese Copper Coins by Sir James Haldane Stewart Lockhart. Here is the actual entry from 1915 edition of the book (Page XI of the Introduction):

"The standard introduced by the Tang dynasty and continuing in theory until today... in value, 1 gold -- 10 silver -- 1,000 copper, these being the metallic exchange equivalents in China thirteen centuries ago."

I think we've found a good basis for the coin conversion system in ATLA:

1 gold coin = 10 silver coins = 1,000 copper coins

The average of weight of a coin during the Tang Dynasty was about 4 grams. The Waterbending Scroll stolen from the pirates was valued at 200 gold coins. According to this website here, as of May 2026, a gram of gold is worth about $152 USD. Meaning...

The Waterbending Scroll would be worth $121,600 USD in today's money.

Katara basically stole the scroll equivalent to a 2026 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan:

#atla#tbf that's in US value not in-universe value#so they may not value gold *that* highly if it's only ten silver coins#esp since 1000 copper coins in USD is $13 while the value of silver per gram is like $3 lol#but also I imagine that's probably a comparable price for something that's considered a historical artifact from a 'lost' culture#maybe less tbh given how much some stolen artifacts probably go for in today's world#*edit for correction: 1000 grams of copper is $13. so if we proceed with the assumption of each coin being 4 grams#then 1000 copper coins would be $52 and 10 silver coins would be $120#still not quite the right conversion

It's true, our modern metal values are quite different. In our world, it would be more like:

1 Gold Coin = 58 Silver Coins = 11,500 Copper Coins

I was tempted to get into the history of how silver (and copper) became devalued in the initial post but didn't want to bog it down with too much historical context. However, since you brought up the topic...

The exchange rate that I'm taking inspiration from comes from 7th-century China. Most money economies during the Middle Ages were on the silver standard, with gold being reserved only for very high-level transactions. Silver was a rare enough metal to be valuable, but not to the extent that it was impractical for the common people to use, like gold. A modern comparison might be dollars vs bitcoin: Your average American has likely spent a hundred-dollar bill before, but has probably never spent a bitcoin, even if they own one as an investment.

So what happened to silver for it to go from being 1/10th the value of gold to 1/58th? The Spanish Empire happened. The mass importation of silver from the New World, particularly Bolivia, caused silver to rapidly devalue globally. By the 1700s, silver's value was functionally 1/6th of what it was during the Middle Ages (Pre-Spanish Empire). This is how the value of silver went from being 1/10th that of gold's in the 620s to 1/58th of gold's in the 2020s.

While the history of copper's devaluing isn't as well-documented, I assume a similar process occurred, as the largest producer of the world's copper is Chile.

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. Lets take another trip back to Kyoshi Island~

General

The food offered to Aang when he’s first welcomed by Kyoshi Island are mostly traditional Japanese snacks, which are collectively known as wagashi (和菓子). Fun fact, all of these snacks are vegetarian-friendly. Like my Ember Island posts, each food item will be numbered and described below, along with a link to its recipe or product website in the header.

1. Senbei or Sembei (煎餅)

Senbei are a type of Japanese rice cracker. They are usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are usually cooked by being baked or grilled, traditionally over charcoal. While being prepared they may be brushed with a flavoring sauce, often one made of soy sauce and mirin. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment.

2. Namagashi (生菓子)

Namagashi, which translates to “raw sweets”, are traditional Japanese sweets typically made from natural ingredients such as fruit jellies, agar, or sweetened bean paste. They are moist and made fresh, designed using seasonal and natural motifs such as leaves and flowers to reflect the various objects of nature in Japan’s four seasons. The ones being served to Aang and Katara appear to be spring-themed, judging by the pink coloring.

3. Cinnamon Manju or Gyepi Manju (계피만주)

This one took me months to figure out because of its complicated origins! You see, while manju— a pastry filled with sweetened bean paste— is a Japanese dessert, this particular version of manju was invented and popularized in Korea. It’s filled with a creamy white bean paste flavored with sugar and cinnamon. It’s often topped with sesame seeds or nuts.

4. Imagawayaki (今川焼き)

Imagawayaki is a Japanese street snack with a waffle-like texture and traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste.

The rest of the snacks will be covered in Part 2.

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Thai fisherman pants or kangkeng le (กางเกงเล) are lightweight unisex trousers that are made wide in the waist so that one size fits all. The pants are wrapped around the waist and ribbons are tied to form a belt. They tend to be lightweight and very comfortable. As its English name implies, it is commonly worn by fishermen in Thailand.

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If they're supposed to be law-abiding citizens, then no. The Fire Nation's trademark topknot comes from the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE), a very brutal and militaristic period in Chinese history. There are quite a few aspects of the Qin Dynasty that are present in the Fire Nation, for example...

During the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE), Shi Huangti banned religion and burned philosophical and religious works. Legalism became the official philosophy of the Qin government and the people were subject to harsh penalties for breaking even minor laws. Shi Huangti outlawed any books, which did not deal with his family line, his dynasty, or Legalism... Confucian scholars hid books as best as they could and people would worship their gods in secret but were no longer allowed to carry amulets or wear religious charms.

In this sort of climate, men are viewed as tools of the state, so self-expression is not encouraged. That said, even under those conditions, men found ways to jazz up their topknot by adding little braid patterns and decorations in the back. They also had unique facial hair styles, although that might have been due to each soldier having a different capacity to grow a 'stache and beard.

However, in both the context of the Qin Dynasty and the Fire Nation, a man without a topknot would indicate he's some sort of criminal or shameful person. In which case, I suppose any hairstyle is acceptable for a law-breaking character.

Of course, there's far more nuance to any place and time period, but I'm speaking strictly in terms of how the stereotypical understanding of this dynasty influenced this specific show. Avatar: The Last Airbender, as a show, leaned pretty heavily on the stereotypes of specific dynasties to emphasize the "vibe" of certain locales or people. For example, the wealthy and cultured Beifong family dresses in Tang Dynasty clothing because the Tang Dynasty has a reputation for being a time of exceptional prosperity and cultural achievement in China. The Earth Kingdom's capital of Ba Sing Se is visually modeled after the Beijing of the late Qing Dynasty, because Ba Sing Se is depicted as complacent and only interested in its own self-preservation, at the expense of the rest of the nation. Obviously, the real Tang Dynasty and Qing Dynasty were complex eras that possessed both virtues and flaws, but we're talking about a children's cartoon employing artistic shorthand.

Compared to other dynasties, the Qin Dynasty has quite a number of historical artifacts to use as artistic reference, simply by the sheer scale of the Terracotta Warriors. That, combined with the stereotype of the Qin Dynasty as very militant and repressive, makes it reasonable to assume they were a large inspiration for the imperialistic Fire Nation. It would also be reasonable to assume that a repressive and militaristic society would frown on its men sporting overly unique hairstyles, in addition to hair being tied to filial piety in Chinese culture.

So this person has made it so that the post can't be reblogged, but I'm just going to clarify one more time:

The Fire Nation's topknot was modeled after the Qin Dynasty. That's what I mean when I say that a cartoon hairstyle "came from" the Qin Dynasty. Because we literally have detailed historical evidence of exactly how the Qin topknot looked and the Fire Nation's hairstyle resembles it.

If they're supposed to be law-abiding citizens, then no. The Fire Nation's trademark topknot comes from the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE), a very brutal and militaristic period in Chinese history. There are quite a few aspects of the Qin Dynasty that are present in the Fire Nation, for example...

During the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE), Shi Huangti banned religion and burned philosophical and religious works. Legalism became the official philosophy of the Qin government and the people were subject to harsh penalties for breaking even minor laws. Shi Huangti outlawed any books, which did not deal with his family line, his dynasty, or Legalism... Confucian scholars hid books as best as they could and people would worship their gods in secret but were no longer allowed to carry amulets or wear religious charms.

In this sort of climate, men are viewed as tools of the state, so self-expression is not encouraged. That said, even under those conditions, men found ways to jazz up their topknot by adding little braid patterns and decorations in the back. They also had unique facial hair styles, although that might have been due to each soldier having a different capacity to grow a 'stache and beard.

However, in both the context of the Qin Dynasty and the Fire Nation, a man without a topknot would indicate he's some sort of criminal or shameful person. In which case, I suppose any hairstyle is acceptable for a law-breaking character.

Of course, there's far more nuance to any place and time period, but I'm speaking strictly in terms of how the stereotypical understanding of this dynasty influenced this specific show. Avatar: The Last Airbender, as a show, leaned pretty heavily on the stereotypes of specific dynasties to emphasize the "vibe" of certain locales or people. For example, the wealthy and cultured Beifong family dresses in Tang Dynasty clothing because the Tang Dynasty has a reputation for being a time of exceptional prosperity and cultural achievement in China. The Earth Kingdom's capital of Ba Sing Se is visually modeled after the Beijing of the late Qing Dynasty, because Ba Sing Se is depicted as complacent and only interested in self-preservation, at the expense of the rest of the nation. Obviously, the real Tang Dynasty and Qing Dynasty were complex eras that possessed both virtues and flaws, but we're talking about a children's cartoon employing artistic shorthand.

Compared to other dynasties, the Qin Dynasty has quite a number of historical artifacts that can be used as artistic references, simply by the sheer scale of the Terracotta Warriors. That, combined with the stereotype of the Qin Dynasty as very militant and repressive, makes it reasonable to assume they were a large inspiration for the imperialistic Fire Nation. It would also be reasonable to assume that a repressive and militaristic society would frown on its men sporting overly unique hairstyles, in addition to hair being tied to filial piety in Chinese culture.