huang-pao-tso

Chinese Pidgin English

Alternative forms

• ombautso, wambatso, wangbatso

Etymology

Borrowed from Shanghainese 黃包車／黄包车 (⁶waon-pau-tsho).

Noun

huang-pao-tso

1. (Shanghai) rickshaw

   Synonym: ricksha

2. (Shanghai) rickshaw driver

   Synonym: ricksha-coolie

References

• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 107: “Ombautso, or wambatso: Lit. “yellow-contract-wagon.” The common Shanghai term for a ricksha. Mandarin: “Huang-pao-che”: in Shanghai the last word is pronounced “Tso.” (Lundequist). This expression is said to be peculiar to Shanghai.”
• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 108: “Ricksha, or licksha: (properly jinrickshaw) Japanese. A vehicle drawn by a man. Invented by a missionary in Japan. In Shanghai called wang—or huang-pao-tso.”
• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 109: “Wangbatso or Huang-pao-tso: in Shanghai, a ricksha or ricksha coolie. (in the latter case wrongly applied by foreigners).”