Editing He Hong'er

{{Era|Individuals|Assassins}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = He Hong'er
|native =
|image = ACD He Hong'er.jpg
|birth = 727<br>[[Tang dynasty]]
|death = 
|active = 
|species = [[Human]]
|database = 
|affiliates = Yan family {{c|by marriage}}<br>[[Hidden Ones]]
*[[Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins|Chinese Brotherhood]]
}}
'''He Hong'er''' (何紅兒; born 727),<ref name="Dynasty 18">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Golden Turtles (Part 2)]]</ref> also known by her [[Assassins|Assassin]] alias '''Scarlet Thread''' ([[wikt:紅線|紅線]], Mandarin: ''Hóngxiàn'', Cantonese: ''hung''<sup>4</sup> ''sin''<sup>3</sup>), was a [[Hidden Ones|Hidden One]] during the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref name="Profile">''Assassin's Creed: Dynasty'' – "The Assassin: He Shi"</ref> She was the childhood sweetheart and wife of [[Yan Jiming]], the son of [[Grand protector|Grand Protector]] [[Yan Gaoqing]] of [[Changshan Commandery]].<ref name="Dynasty 18" />

==Biography==
When the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] broke out in 755,<ref name="Dynasty 10">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Beacon Fire (Part 3)]]</ref> the Yan family, alone out of the twenty-four commanderies of [[Hebei|Hebei Circuit]], decided to resist the southward march of the rebel ''[[jiedushi]]''s army.<ref name="Dynasty 12">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Beacon Fire (Part 5)]]</ref> Jiming enlisted the aid of the Hidden One [[Li E]] from [[Qinghe Commandery]], and the two inspired a circuit-wide counter-rebellion after lighting the beacon at [[Julu Commandery|Julu]].<ref name="Dynasty 16">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Beacon Fire (Part 9)]]</ref> Upon their return to Changshan, Li spent time training Jiming in martial arts, and it was during one of these sessions on 28 January 756<ref name="Dynasty timeline">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Record of Major Events in Tianbao Year 14]]</ref> that Hong'er met the Hidden One for the first time, impressing him with her self-taught skill with a [[sword]].<ref name="Dynasty 18" />

Although Changshan forces were able to successfully capture [[Tumen Pass]] in a surprise attack that night,<ref name="Dynasty timeline" /> their plan for Li E to link up with the main Tang army defending [[Chang'an]] at [[Tong Pass]] was thwarted by the [[Golden Turtles]], a secret order which had infiltrated the Tang court.<ref name="Dynasty 37">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[The Last Stand of Justice (Part 3)]]</ref> Consequently, Changshan was unable to withstand a massive retaliatory attack by Lushan's lieutenant [[Shi Siming]], falling on 12 February 756,<ref name="Dynasty timeline" /> and Hong'er lost both her husband and father-in-law.<ref name="Dynasty 32">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[The Last Stand of Justice (Part 8)]]</ref>

Along with seven other survivors of the [[Battle of Changshan]], Hong'er joined with Li E at [[Pingyuan Commandery]] to forge an alliance with Grand Protector [[Yan Zhenqing]]. There, they slew the delegation of [[Yeluohe]] sent by Lushan to intimidate Zhenqing with news of Jiming and Gaoqing's executions. With Zhenqing pledging Pingyuan to the loyalist cause, Hong'er and the other Changshan survivors accompanied Li E to Chang'an to [[assassination|assassinate]] the Golden Turtles and avenge Jiming.<ref name="Dynasty 35">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[The Hidden Ones (Part 3)]]</ref>

After [[blending]] in with [[Li Longji|Emperor Xuanzong]]'s entourage as he fled from the capital, they unleashed their ambush on 15 July 756 as the Golden Turtles secretly met outside [[Mawei Station]], simultaneously inciting a [[Mawei Station mutiny|mutiny]] against the Golden Turtle leader, Right Chancellor [[Yang Guozhong]], who was finished off by soldiers furious for his role in sabotaging the Tang defence effort.<ref name="Dynasty 37">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[The Hidden Ones (Part 5)]]</ref>

Two years later, He Hong'er formally joined the Hidden Ones as an [[Assassin apprentice|apprentice]] of [[Li E]] under the name Scarlet Thread in memory of Yan Jiming.<ref name="Dynasty 38">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Final Chapter: Assassination]]</ref> inspiring the {{Wiki|Hongxian (short story)|short story}} written a decade later.<ref name="Profile" />

==Behind the scenes==
He Hong'er is a supporting character in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' (2020). According to the manhua's promotional material, she is based on the titular character of the fictional tale "{{wiki|Hongxian (short story)|The Legend of Scarlet Thread}}" ({{wiki|zh:紅線傳|紅線傳}}), which is part of a late Tang anthology of short stories titled ''Ballads of Timely Rainfall'' ([https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E7%94%98%E6%BE%A4%E8%AC%A0 甘澤謠]) and written by Yuan Jiao (袁郊).

The initial name given in her character profile was '''He Shi''' (何氏).<ref name="Profile" /> Shi ([[wikt:氏|氏]]), literally 'clan', is a suffix with a meaning akin to English {{wiki|Ms.|Ms}} or ''[[wikt:née|née]]''. She is never referred to as He Shi in the actual manhua since her full name He Hong'er is used. This name is original to ''Assassin's Creed: Dynasty''. In "The Legend of Scarlet Thread", her real name is neither revealed nor is the origin of her alias Scarlet Thread explained. ''Assassin's Creed: Dynasty'' offers its own account of the alias. It can be inferred in its [[Finale: Assassination|finale]] that she adopts it in reference to the red headscarf left behind with Yan Jiming's head, for the {{wiki|red thread of fate}} is an East Asian motif symbolizing the destiny of true lovers. Moreover, her given name Hong'er (紅兒) itself means the colour {{wiki|red}}, with ''er'' (兒) being a {{wiki|diminutive|diminutive suffix}}.

Despite pre-release media promoting He Shi as a major Assassin character, He Hong'er only joins Assassin protagonist [[Li E]]'s party in the fifth and final volume, ''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty Volume 5|The Hidden Ones]]'', and is only officially inducted at the ending.

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
ACD - He Hong'er killing Duan Ziguang.png|He Hong'er killing [[Duan Ziguang]]
AC Dynasty Chapter 38.jpg|He Hong'er with Li E and the Assassins
ACD - He Hong'er joining the Hidden Ones.png|He Hong'er joining the Hidden Ones
</gallery>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}
{{ACD}}
[[fr:He Shi]]
[[zh:何红儿]]
[[Category:727 births]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Chinese]]
[[Category:Han Chinese]]
[[Category:Hidden Ones]]
[[Category:Chinese Assassins]]