Deer penis

Deer penis in a Chinese pharmacy in Yokohama, Japan for ¥100,000

In traditional Chinese medicine, a deer penis (Vietnamese: Lộc pín; Chinese: 鹿鞭; pinyin: lù biān) is said to have important therapeutic properties.

Purported properties

The deer penis is typically very large and, proponents claim, for it to retain its properties, it must be extracted from the deer while still alive.^[1] Often it is then sliced into small pieces, typically by women and then roasted and dried in the sun.^[1]^[2] In Angang, Taiwan, women are reported to consume deer penis during pregnancy as it is said to have a fattening effect and to make the mother and child stronger.^[1]

The Mayans were also known to extract the penis of the deer and roast it.^[3] Hippocrates recommended consuming deer penis to resolve sexual difficulties.^[4]

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, the country banned deer penis, turtle blood, and angelica root potions from athletes' diets.^[5] This is because according to traditional Chinese medicine, deer penis, especially if ingested while soaked in alcohol (deer penis wine), is an effective remedy for athletic injuries. Chinese Olympic officials advised national athletes not to take the traditional remedy because it may contain some banned substances like the stimulant herbal ephedrine. It joined steroids and amphetamines on the list of banned substances. When consumed, a deer penis or tiger penis is also said to enhance virility, and is thought by some to be an aphrodisiac.^[6]

Availability

Like turtle's blood and penis, deer penis is one of the "delicacies" served in large jars in Snake Alley, Taipei.^[7] It is also served on the Chinese mainland in restaurants such as the Guo Li Zhuang.^[8] Deer penis wine can be sold at $12 a glass and often as high as $455 for a two-litre bottle.^[9] Deer-antler wine, known as Lurongjiu, is also said to enhance sexual potency in men and to have a warming effect, aiding the joints.^[10]^[11] A deer's penis, turtle's penis, or bull's penis is consumed in restaurants and is known in Singapore to be offered as a soup delicacy.^[9]

Popular culture

A health store in Shanghai which retails deer penis and other medicinals

Powdered deer penis is mentioned in the 1996 Steven Seagal film The Glimmer Man during the scene where Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans enter a Chinese herbal store.

Deer penis is mentioned in the 2009 episode of The Office "Double Date" when Dwight corrects Michael's statement calling fish sticks an aphrodisiac: "you're thinking of deer penis," Dwight replies.

In season 1 episode 5 of The League, Ruxin and Taco go to Chinatown to buy "3 Penis Wine", involving the infusion of deer penises, dog penises, and snake penises. However the real "Three-Penis Wine" contains a fusion of seal, dog and deer penis.

References

1 2 3 Charles Stafford (1 June 2006). The Roads of Chinese Childhood: Learning and Identification in Angang. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02656-7.
↑ Richards, John F (2006). The Unending Frontier: An Environmental History of the Early Modern World. Volume 1 of California World History Library (University of California Press). p. 99. ISBN 0-520-24678-0.
↑ Robert M. Laughlin, Carol Karasik (1988). The People of the Bat: Mayan Tales and Dreams from Zinacantán. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-87474-590-0.
↑ Bonnard (1999), p. 24
↑ "Deer Penis Loses Favor as China's Olympians Fear Drug Testers". Bloomberg. March 23, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
↑ Harding, Andrew (September 23, 2006). "Beijing's penis emporium". BBC. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
↑ The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 274, Atlantic Monthly Co., 1994
↑ Richard Spencer, On the menu today: horse penis and testicles with a chilli dip, The Telegraph
1 2 Jerry Hopkins, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Freeman (2004). Extreme Cuisine: The Weird & Wonderful Foods That People Eat. Tuttle Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7946-0255-0.
↑ Stafford, Charles (1995). The roads of Chinese childhood: learning and identification in Angang. Volume 97 of Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology (Cambridge University Press). p. 98. ISBN 0-521-46574-5.
↑ Bonnard (1999), p. 125

Bibliography

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Stewart, David W. "Letters to the Editor: Male Genitalia of Red Deer (Cer Vus Elaphus)." New Zealand veterinary journal 31.7 (1983): 122-122.
Valerius Geist (January 1998). Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0496-0.
Mesang-Nalley, Marlene, Henderiana Belli, and Ristika Handarini. "Anatomy and Morphometry of Timor Deer (Cervus timorensis) Stags Reproductive Organs."
Yueqiu, Guo, et al. "Identification of Deer Testes and Penis and its Counterfeiting Products by Immuno-agglutination Testing." CHINESE PHARMACEUTICAL AFFAIRS 2 (2000): 017.
Vidyadaran, M. K., et al. "Male genital organs and accessory glands of the lesser mouse deer, Tragulus javanicus." Journal of mammalogy (1999): 199-204.
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Bonnard, Marc (1999). The Viagra Alternative: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Erectile Dysfunction Naturally. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. ISBN 0-89281-789-5.
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Robert S. Youngquist; Walter R. Threlfall (23 November 2006). Current Therapy in Large Animal Theriogenology. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-1-4377-1340-4. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
Tim Glover (30 June 2012). Mating Males: An Evolutionary Perspective on Mammalian Reproduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-00001-8. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (15 September 2009). The Hidden Life of Deer. HarperCollins. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-0-06-190209-3. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
George A. Feldhamer; William J. McShea (26 January 2012). Deer: The Animal Answer Guide. JHU Press. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-1-4214-0387-8. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
Rebecca Stefoff (30 November 2007). Deer. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 24–. ISBN 978-0-7614-2534-2. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
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