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More than a minor worry

Women high and low went to great lengths to prevent such an embarrassment. Emperor Han Chengdi (51-7 BC) is known for his debauchery, yet he wanted his phalanx of women lily-white pure. Zhao Feiyan, who later became his favorite concubine, was already experienced in the facts of life when she was selected for the palace. On their first night together, she passed off as a virgin with a little help from porcine blood.

Nowadays medical science has made it possible to repair a broken hymen. And if online search sites are to be believed, there are just as many such services as repairs of damaged flash-memory disks. The fee is around a thousand yuan, which is a pittance compared with the premium for the "breaking virginity" service, i.e. prostitution involving a young woman who can prove she is a virgin.

This has given rise to a flurry of news reports on "virgin hustling" and the over-zealous campaign to crack down on it. In 2009, some Kunming policemen spotted a pair of sisters in a part of town heavily populated by migrants. Overhearing one of them say "Do you want to play", the police deduced there was child prostitution involved and arrested the girls and their parents. The parents said their daughters were still in elementary school, aged 15 and 13 respectively. Under media pressure, the girls were subject to medical examination and found to be virgins, and thus exonerated of the police accusation.

The fact that the girls were underage seemed beside the point as both prosecutors and defenders were relentlessly focused on their virgin status or the possible lack thereof.