Fix that Baopi!

Ad for foreskin surgery in Shanghai (click me!)Baopi is a Chinese word that means “foreskin.” You see the Chinese characters in the picture here. I am most familiar with the Chinese word in the context of foreigners’ propensity to mix it up with the word pibao (same characters), which means wallet or purse (literally, “leather bag”).

I was pretty surprised, then, to see these words jumping out at me from an ad on the Shanghai subway. Make sure to click on the picture to see the entire ad.

I’m not sure what baojing is. According to the characters, its literal translation would be “skin stalk.” If you want more information, you can go to this Chinese site, which provides nice graphical clarification. [WARNING: if you don’t want to look at male genitalia, don’t click on that link!]

Some other related terms are:

  • 包皮切除 (bao1 pi2 qie4 chu2) – circumcision
  • 包皮过长 (bao1 pi2 guo4 chang2) – redundant prepuce (literally, “foreskin too long”)
  • 包皮垢 (bao1 pi2 gou4) – smegma

Anyway, I found all that amusing to see on a subway. The ad advocates immediate surgery. The nurse is a nice touch, eh?

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John Pasden

John is a Shanghai-based linguist and entrepreneur, founder of AllSet Learning.

Comments

  1. Oh, thanks for reminding me… I knew there was something I had to get done.

  2. You know John…

    Those with “baopi” stuff can’t perform well but can enjoy more than those without “baopi”.

    Women prefer NO “baopi” as in that case they enjoy more.

    Well, just my thoughts, you know…

    Cheers and a very Happy New Year to you and all!

  3. Heh … thanks for sharing …

  4. Good to know. (I don’t think those are Chinese models.)

  5. This is truly sad. I thought China might be the one place one could escape “your penis is inadequate” advertising. Damn you capitalism, damn you open doors.

    On another note, there are a hell of a lot of ugly female genitals out there, does this subway advertise services to remedy that as well? Vaginas can be too big, why don’t I get 12 e-mails a day about tightening mine up? Would John ever link to a site with close-up pictures of female genitals? It’s a sexist world where male genitals are dwelled upon and are “decent” while female genitals are “obscene” and don’t exist.

  6. insteresting post, well, this kind of garbage posters exist everywhere in china, mainly on telegraph pole or some dirty walls near garbage cans, haha, there are a lot of business opportunity out there, chinese restrain their physical need as well as spiritual

  7. Anonymous Says: January 23, 2004 at 2:28 am

    Explanations of baopi guochang and baojing:

    http://www.shutien.org.tw/html/stuc6p.htm
    [Warning: More male genitalia, of the cartoon variety]

  8. Explanations of baopi guochang and baojing:

    http://www.shutien.org.tw/html/stuc6p.htm
    [Warning: More male genitalia, of the cartoon variety]

  9. I was so proud of that, I had to post it twice.

  10. I can’t wait to hear ML’s reaction on your latest posting. 🙂

  11. Circumcision is a pretty interesting topic. I’m glad the Chinese have taken it up. From what I’ve heard, most European men don’t get their foreskin removed (is that true European guys??) and most American men do. As an American who didn’t, my father was always making a big deal about me cleaning the area around my “baopi” carefully so that I could avoid “baojing”.

  12. Da Xiangchang Says: January 24, 2004 at 12:55 pm

    Circumcised or not, there’s nothing stupider looking than male genitalia. A floppy, ugly, sea cucumber-resembling appendage. Whenever I take a shower, I always think this.

  13. This shit is hilarious!

  14. “baojing” means “uncircumcised, or the foreskin is still wrapped around the head of penis”.

    The topic of “to cut or not to cut” has been around for several decades now in the U.S. Even though the American Medical Association agrees that circumcision is unnecessary and may cause irrations when inproperly done, many doctors still preform the surgery on new born boys.

  15. Hey Fher,
    I wasn’t inclined to check out that Chinese site until I read your “Warning” (hee hee). Man, that guy second from the left is EWWWWWWW!

  16. Tian says:
    “The topic of “to cut or not to cut” has been around for several decades now in the U.S. Even though the American Medical Association agrees that circumcision is unnecessary and may cause irrations when inproperly done, many doctors still preform the surgery on new born boys.”

    However, most doctors still agree that circumcision does signifigantly reduce the number of male genital area infections. This is because it is more difficult to clean a child who has not been cut. Of course, if care is always taken, these can be avoided. But care is not always taken in cleaning up a dirty diaper.

  17. Little boys need to be circumcised. i was, and my boys were. they need to feel the pain.

  18. Hello girafe

  19. No child “needs to feel pain”! You may equally say everyone should experience a collision with a car to teach them a valuable lesson in life.

    I was circumcised by a doctor “to cure a UTI”. It may well do this for the first year of life, but ever after, the foreskin is best retained. My son is the owner of a natural penis. He has never had any trouble with it.

  20. Serjio Solano Says: April 6, 2007 at 4:34 am

    You know….I actually realy really like my foreskin. I’m Swedish and grew up with cousins in American who where cut. I never had any problems with my foreskin and can honestly say that I have a lot more feeling/sensation with my skin than my cousins do. I would never consider circumsision.

    Serjio / Serge
    Lake Norman, North Carolina, USA

  21. Medwin Chuan Says: December 11, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    “baopi” or foreskin, whatever.
    Circumcision has been going on in China for a long time since we can do this small surgery properly couple of decennials ago.
    There are also some records about ancient Chinese circumcision which did not have much hygiene guarantees but it surly a circumcision in order to deal some diseases.

  22. Tian's a Poor Translator Says: March 9, 2011 at 2:11 pm

    Tian is wrong: “baojing” does not mean “uncircumcised,” rather it refers to unretractable foreskin, otherwise known as phimosis. Phimosis can easily be cured with steroidal treament or even gentle manipulation to stretch the skin, making circumcision unnecessary. That this blood ritual has spread to China as a symbol of modernism is seriously warped.

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