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Fun Facts
- The character for Hong literally means "Scarlet" in Japanese and "Red" in Chinese, and Meiling means "Beautiful Bell". The latter part of her name, Meiling, is at least a common Chinese name. These characters can be read in Japanese as "Kurenai Misuzu", and you'll sometimes see her name mispronounced or miswritten that way. Another less common misreading is "Mirin."
- It is known that in 2ch, there was a debate on how to read Meiling's name. One side said Hong Meiling, and the other said Kurenai Misuzu. The debate ended (sort of) when a user said "Why don't we just call her 'China', as her clothing seems to identify her the most." As a result, even after ZUN said "Hong Meiling" is the correct pronunciation in an interview, people kept on calling Meiling "China".
- This has become a running joke in fanworks where everybody forgets her real name. She is often defensive about it but tends to be blown off. ZUN himself once jokingly forgot her name in an interview, cementing the meme.
- A popular Flash animation called "My Name is Hong Meiling" spawned the meme "Sakuya-san, Sakuya-san, cleaning stop! Room cleaning stop!" (after which she gets stabbed in the forehead with a knife).
- Meiling's nickname is further ingrained into the minds of fans by her clothing, and also by the name of her stage BGM, "Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea". Her stage theme tends to be more frequently remixed by fans than her boss theme, "Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17", to the point where "Chinese Tea" became her theme in Touhou Hisoutensoku.
- Sadly, despite having enough recognition to become playable in Immaterial and Missing Power (albeit as a joke character through a downloaded patch), Meiling was the only character not to have a storyline. She was passed over in SWR due to time constraints, but returned in Touhou Hisoutensoku. She is almost universally considered bottom tier, even next to fellow joke character Cirno, despite having some of the most impressive combos in the game, as shown here.
- Her woobie status spreading even to game production, fans responded by creating her much more effective MUGEN variations. Among her added attacks are the "Chuugoku Satsu," a parody of her nickname "Chuugoku" (China) and Akuma's signature attack "Shun Goku Satsu" (Instant Hell Murder) from Street Fighter.
- She is commonly referred to as the "lazy guardian" of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, though whether this stems from her actual personality or from the nickname "China" is unknown. Many Japanese people complain about the reliability and quality of products manufactured in China. There are many fanfics that depict an enraged Sakuya behind a sleeping Meiling in front of the gates to the Mansion. The implication is that she has the "Chinese" quality of "Shinrai no Chuugoku" (信頼の中国, which translates to Reliable China), with much intended sarcasm.
- Her relationship with Sakuya seems to be a popular topic for fan work, including comics, music and games. One running gag involves her being stabbed in the head by Sakuya's knives. This is usually due to her inability to keep unwanted visitors, such as Marisa, out of the mansion.
- It is also common for fan works to depict Meiling caring for Sakuya when the latter was a child. This scenario is somewhat plausible due to Meiling being a youkai and Sakuya being human, making it likely that Meiling is several decades older than Sakuya. They both have the distinction of being the only characters in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil to have braided sideburns with ribbons. This fact supports that setting.
- As the result of her comedic scenario in Touhou Hisoutensoku and the nature of one of her battles (with a rather simplified background image), fans have made numerous jokes regarding drug experimentation on Meiling's part.
- Many of her lines in Touhou Hisoutensoku indicate that Meiling has boastful pride in China. "You're all not there yet! You're all children compared to 4000 years of history!" The script also reveals that she reads manga created by the tengu, compares Yuyuko to a jiangshi (Chinese vampire), and notes that Tenshi and the celestials read Chinese works. (Many of Tenshi's win quotes in SWR come from Chinese classics.) This is how Chinese characters in Japanese manga and anime are almost always depicted: a pervasive stereotype of the alleged common traits and unmerited pride of Chinese people.
- Meiling's win quote against Sakuya in Touhou Hisoutensoku implies that she feels she is merely letting Sakuya get away with abusing her because there has been no formal duel between the two of them (and probably also because Sakuya outranks her in the Scarlet Devil Mansion), and that if it were a formal match, she would (and could) very easily take the Chief Maid down. There is a degree of credibility to this particular opinion, as Meiling is never seen defending herself (or even attempting to do so, for that matter) against Sakuya's outbursts of violence, probably because she's already guilty of slacking off on her job.
- Meiling and Remilia's win quotes against each other in Touhou Hisoutensoku regarding manga that Remilia let Meiling borrow suggests that their relationship is more friendly than abusive, and that they are just fighting for the fun of it. However, Meiling's win quote suggests that Remilia does not exactly approve of her borrowing the manga on a whim (especially not when she was supposed to be working as a gate guard). She also implies that Remilia gave her a slight telling-off for doing so, which is still a much friendlier response than what Sakuya would have otherwise done...
- If Meiling loses to Youmu in Touhou Hisoutensoku, the latter will ask if Meiling shouldn't just use a weapon, namely a green dragon blade. This can be a source of confusion, since many would imagine the legendary Green Dragon Crescent Blade wielded by the famous Chinese general Guan Yu. In Japan, the term has become a common misnomer for the liuyedao and other Chinese sabers. As Youmu quickly adds she has only heard about them in stories, the use of her local, incorrect term is likely intentional.
- In fan works, Meiling seems to be some sort of big sister or playmate to Flandre (rather than Remilia). In comedy works it can be to throw Meiling in the way of more danger, or because the two are the least uptight in the SDM. In serious ones, her laid back approach and friendly nature make Meiling a natural choice for reaching out to an isolated Flandre. Many fan works depict the two going out of their way to help each other on numerous occasions.
- Her race remains unconfirmed, but she is commonly associated with dragons due to her many shared motifs with them, such as her use of rainbows, hat, and name, and possible inspiration by the Chinese Hong. This is most prevalent during depictions of her theoretical EX mode in which she often adopts dragon characteristics.
- The doujinshi, In a life of a maid, she is normally sleeping on a chair while guarding the SDM. She gets knifed for that. It's been a meme of that ever since.
Official Profiles
Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - おまけ.txt
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○華人小娘 紅 美鈴（ホン・メイリン）
３面ボスです。中国人風の妖怪です。
ってくる侵入者を積極的に排除しています。 これといった特別なキャラではないのですが、ここで初めて、ストー リーに関係あるものになっていきます。 といってもお嬢様の存在を言うだけですが。 | |
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Chinese Girl Hong Meiling Ability: Control of Chi Stage 3 boss. A Chinese-looking youkai. Her clothing is colorful and somewhat traditional. She is the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and prevents intruders from beyond the lake from reaching the mansion. She is by no means a special character, but she is the first character that has something to do with the main story. Even if that something happens to be merely mentioning the Mistress. | |
Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt
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Touhou Hisoutensoku
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○ 紅 美鈴 いつも騒がしい紅魔館。その日も例外なく騒がしかった。 彼女は漠然とした不安を感じていた。 アレは一体何だったのか。 アレは凶事の顕形「太歳星君（たいさいせいくん）」の影である。
勿論それは聞き入れられなかった。 彼女は思っていた。 |
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Chinese Girl, Hong Meiling The always noisy Scarlet Devil Mansion. That day, it was as noisy as ever. Its gate guard had reported something to the mansion's master, Remilia Scarlet, but the master had loftily ignored her. The girl felt a vague sense of uneasiness. That morning, she had seen a giant figure. Then, it dissolved into a lazy mist and disappeared. Just what was that? A big shadow like a roc, and a sinister mist being produced. She was certain. It was the shadow of the Buddha of Misfortune, "Taisuei Shengjun." She reported to the master of the mansion that an evil god that all youkai must join forces and fight against had finally appeared in Gensokyo. Naturally, nobody listened to her. The girl thought. In order to break up the everyday boredom with a little fun, she had intentionally exaggerated a bit. | |
Book Synopsis
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red
- Main article: Article and Interview: Meiling
One day, a mysterious crop circle appears in the gardens of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, causing widespread speculation, rumors and gossip around the Mansion. Meiling, who was responsible for taking care of the garden, claims not to be the culprit, but admits that she's been tasked by Remilia to restore the garden to its original state now that her mistress has become bored with the crop circle pattern. During her interview with Aya, she notes she is quite worried, as she has no idea how to change the flowers back. Questioned about the crop circle's origins, Meiling vehemently denies falling asleep, so Aya goes on to talk about aliens...
- The culprit revealed at the end is Patchouli Knowledge.
Perfect Memento in Strict Sense
- Main article: Perfect Memento: Hong Meirin
- Meiling works as a gate guard at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
- She is a well-rounded youkai, skilled in martial arts rather than focusing on a single power.
- Although this means she isn't very powerful among youkai, she has no weak points.
- She is unusually human-like and will chat with humans while on the job.
- If you don't try to get through her gate, she will rarely attack you.
- She performs Tai Chi Chuan daily, and has a nap at noon.
- The best way to exterminate her is straightforwardly, in a formal match.
The Grimoire of Marisa
- Main article: The Grimoire of Marisa: Hong Meiling's Spell Cards
- Insert Summary Here
Hong Meiling do not like Youkais (Touhou Hisoutensoku- Story Mode)