Hong Meiling

Hong Meiling

Hong Meiling is a youkai, though being Chinese, though it isn't currently known which specific category she actually belongs to. She's the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She is known for her mastery of the martial arts, part of which can be seen in her movement which is based on Bajiquan, such as Shin-Kyaku and Tetsuzanko. Meiling is a proud Chinese-style martial arts master and a youkai. Her age is unknown but she's most likely been around for a century.

Personality

Meiling is very laid-back, which sometimes gets her into trouble, and is known to sleep on the job, although she does her job when needed. She is known to be rather versatile at her job and Marisa is the only known person whom she can't stop from intruding, though Marisa tends to come in via a friendly visit. She regularly receives challengers and is a worthy to opponent of the strong. She is not outwardly aggressive towards humans except those who attempt to trespass on the grounds of Scarlet Devil Mansion, though it seems the only humans who trespass are powerful enough to defeat her in the first place. She will also sometimes have conversations with passersby. Many of her lines in Touhou Hisoutensoku express a boastful, somewhat stereotypical patriotism for China: "You're all not there yet! You're all children compared to 4000 years of history!" She also compares Yuyuko Saigyouji to a Jiang Shi and notes that Tenshi Hinanawi and the Celestials have read Chinese classics. The script also reveals that she seems to spend a lot of time reading manga written by the tengu. She reads them with Remilia, her mistress asking her everytime how good each manga are like that time they were in a nuclear reactor.

Abilities and Skills

Meiling's mastery of t'ai chi ch'uan is her main ability in combat, but other than that, she has no youkai-like ability. While not particularly strong as a youkai, she is described as being well-rounded, with no particular weak point when fighting humans; this is likely why she was hired to watch the gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Meiling is able to manipulate her life-breath, or qi. Her danmaku and her flight likely involve projecting her qi outward to attack foes or propel herself in a manner seen in martial arts folklore and in contemporary Japanese manga. She's also incredibly keen in sensing. She's able to sense intruders whenever she's asleep and manages to wake up to do her job.

Occupation

Meiling works as the gatekeeper and gardener of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She also acts as the doorkeeper when there's a party at the mansion. She performs Tai Chi Chuan daily and has a nap at noon.

Relationships

Remilia is Meiling's mistress. Being the type of person Remilia is, she tends to tease all her subordinates and Meiling is no exception. She does get mad at her sometimes if things don't go her way but the two are generally on friendly terms. In Touhou Hisoutensoku, it's suggested that Remilia reads some of the manga Meiling does. Sakuya is a fellow employee of Meiling. Meiling's win quote against Sakuya Izayoi in Touhou Hisoutensoku implies a friendly, if somewhat formal, relationship between the two of them. In those quotes, Meiling also tells Sakuya that she always goes easy on her so it seems they do spar often. She also claims that she wouldn't go easy on the maid if it were a formal match but it's unknown how much effort there is on Sakuya's part or if Meiling's claims about her strength are true at all. Sakuya is also shown to care for Meiling, though is strict about her not slacking off. Patchouli is the friend of her mistress and sometimes berates her for not thinking enough and spending too much time reading senseless comics. The fairy maids assist Meiling in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, but it's unknown what sort of authority she has over the fairy maids in the mansion. Perfect Memento in Strict Sense implies that youkai also join in Meiling's battles on a whim but instead usually only point and laugh. Flandre is Remilia's younger sister. It's unknown what kind of relationship Meiling and Flandre have. But it's generally agreed in fanon that they have a close friendship.

Appearance

Meiling is tall young woman who has aqua-blue eyes and long, scarlet hair that symbolizes both her name and the place that she's guarding. Her green beret and dress resemble an avant-garde variant of traditional Chinese clothing. Her beret has a gold star on the front with the Traditional Chinese character "龍" that is read and pronounced as "lóng" in standard Chinese and means dragon. She wears white pants in her fighting game sprites.