A Textual Research into the Colloquial Word “Po Xie”(Broken Shoe)

The Chinese word “po xie”(broken shoe)first appeared in the beginning of Tang Dynasty, and it was neutral. Its meaning was around “shoes”. And the morpheme “xie” is the root, and has lexical meaning. And the morpheme “po” is a modifier, meaning “old” or “broken”. In late Ming Dynasty, the word got the meanings like “prostitute”, “loose woman” and was colloquial. The center of the word was “po” meaning “incomplete”. The morpheme “xie” did not refer to “shoe”, but was empty. In some dialects, it can be replaced by “pigu”(ass), “huo”(thing)or “dawan”(big bowl). Their meanings are almost identical. Therefore, the word “po xie” is a homograph of “broken shoe” invented by language users according to different motivations for different objects in different times. It is of some value for the compilation of dictionaries and understanding clearly the lexicological history to know the meanings and motivations of the word.