Pekingese History & Lore

The Story of the Lion and the Monkey

Legend has it that a lion once fell in love with a small monkey and prayed to the Lord Buddha to make him small enough to court his true love. The Lord Buddha granted the lion's wish, and through the union of the lion and the monkey was produced a little offspring, who retained the lion's form, courage, and dignity, with the impudent face, intellect, and sense of the monkey!

The History of the Pekingese

The story begins 2000 years ago, in the city of Luoyang, China. During the reign of the Han Dynasty, it is said that Emporer Han Ming-Ti dreamt one night that he had a devine meeting with a golden man, whom his minister the following day suggested was the figure of Buddha. Moved by this revelation, the emporer urged his officials to venture into foreign lands and retrieve knowledge of the Buddhist faith. Soon after their return, Emporer Ming-Ti ordered the construction of China's first Buddhist temple, and the faith quickly spread throughout the country.

As a result of this movement, many aspects of China's society were influenced by Buddhism, including the Buddhist symbol, the lion, arising in its esteems. But there was a rather significant problem. While the Chinese certainly revered this creature, none had ever seen one with their own eyes. None but a few Buddhist travelers. So it was only through the descriptive words of these travelers, along with the Chinese's familiarity with native wolves, that the first depictions of the sacred animal were created. Naturally, the resulting works had a likeness of both lions and dogs. And this interpretation became accepted as the Fu Lion, guardian of the imperial dharma.

With the introduction of the Fu Lion came the widespread practice of situating statues of it outside palaces, temples, tombs, and official buildings as holy protectors against demons. Over time, it became highly regarded as a symbol of strength, pride, and prosperity, and its ubiquity inevitably followed, predominantly occuring in the Chinese arts and literature. Eventually, it had also become realized that dogs may be bred to resemble this creature, which marked the beginning of the Fu dog breed.

The Forbidden City

As centuries passed, the Fu dogs widely grew in favor with the wealthy and royal members of China, and by the time of the Tao Kuang period, were embraced by the Imperial Palace in Peking, now known as Beijing. It was there that the Fu dogs grew to such esteem as to be regarded as creatures of royalty. They were the constant companions of the emporer, and the smallest was often carried by the emporer in the sleeves of his robe. They were even endowed with the venerable duty of escorting the emporer on important occasions, where two would announce his arrival with piercing barks and two would follow behind carrying the train of his robe in their mouths!

The Fu dogs had inevitably come to stand on their own as symbols of reverence, and were so far as to be deemed "Viceroys" and "Imperial Guardsmen" to whom the common citizens were made to bow! Because they were such vital components of the imperial family, the mere notion of them being accessible to commoners was blasphemy. They were kept within the walls of the Imperial Palace, and never sold or given to the common populace. The only way a citizen might have come to possess one was by stealing one, which was a grave crime he would pay for with his life if ever caught.

Refinement of the Breed

Within the confines of the Imperial Palace, eunuchs by the thousands were assigned the task of breeding and caring for the dogs. Pedigrees were never kept in that time. In place were "Imperial Dog Books" illustrated with depictions of the most prized Fu dogs, which were used as the standard means of record keeping. Breeding was an elaborate duty and was the subject of much thought and theorization. Most in fashion was a method called "prenatal impression," where the mother would be surrounded by psychological stimuli in order to enrich the physical attributes of the pups within her womb. This involved showing the mother pictures and sculptures of the most beautiful dogs, hanging the colors desired in her sleeping quarters, and bedding her in sheepskin to encourage lush coats with profuse feathering.

It was during the rule of Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi, now referred to as Cixi, of the mid 1800s that the dogs began being bred to resemble lions to the utmost. Lions were symbols of prestige, and she demanded to be surrounded by Fu dogs that were as close to their likeness as possible. So their coats were made to be golden and more feathered, and their muzzles were made to be wider. They were also made to have a white spot on their foreheads, which alluded to the traditional depiction of the great lion holding an embroidered ball between its feet. This was certainly one of the most influential periods in the shaping of Fu dog breed.

The Liberation of the Pekingese

It was also at about this time that the dogs would come to be known to the outside world. During the Second Opium War in 1860, Peking was invaded by British Allies. While the royal family managed to flee, they did so in such a hurry that they left their Fu dogs behind. In the Summer Palace were the bodies of several Chinese officials who had committed suicide rather than be captured. And surrounding them were five Fu dogs mourning their deaths. Before the palace was burned to the ground, these dogs were sacked by a solider who handed them over to his captain to be transported back to England as spoils of war.

Lord John Hay took a pair and gave them to his sister, the Duchess of Wellington. They were subsequently named "Schloff" and "Hytien." Sir George Fitzroy took another pair and gave them to his cousins, the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon. These dogs would later be known as the foundation of the "Goodwood" bloodline. Lieutenant Dunne presented the final "Pekingese" dog to Queen Victoria, who named it "Looty," and provided a home for it in the Buckingham Palace. It is said that a painting of Looty still hangs in the Windsor Castle.

The Concluding Account by Alice Wilson

From A Brief History of the Pekingese Dog by Alice Wilson

In 1896 Mrs. Douglas Murray made a sensational appearance with the two finest specimens yet seen. Her husband, who had large business interests in China, had succeeded, with much patience and wire-pulling, in obtaining them. These two were later famous throughout the Pekingese world as "Ah Cum" and "Mimosa." Knowing nothing of any other kennels, Mrs. Murray was astonished one day to be chased down the street by Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox who, in passing, had caught a glimpse of the two Pekes. These two ladies later joined forces, and to them jointly goes the honor of producing the first English Champion, "Ch. Goodwood Lo." The next Champion was "Ch. Goodwood Chum," and these two, fortunately, were terrific sires and were an incalculable influence on the breed.

In 1898 a standard of points was drawn up, and in 1904 the Pekingese Club of England was founded. About this time the Alderbourne Kennel was started by Mrs. Clarice Ashton-Cross and her four daughters on a combination of Goodwood-Murray-Manchu and the Broadoak-Goodwin-Pekin-Prince blood lines. It was destined to e one of the greatest English kennels and put the stamp of the Alderbourne name in all the finest pedigrees.

The impetus given by the founding of the Pekingese Club and the establishment of Peke classes at dog shows gave a remarkable value to the dogs. Breeders of all sorts flocked into the game, some either ignorant or indifferent to the standard originally established. The Pekin Palace Dog Club was soon formed to protect this standard.

In spite of the limitations imposed by this Club (a 10-lb. weight limit and a policy of quality rather than quantity), it prospered and has impressed its policy on its members (and even today many English Champions are under 10 lbs.).

With the Empress Dowager's death in 1911, the long reign of the Pekingese in China came to an end. Rather than let the little dogs fall into unworthy hands, the court officials killed the great majority of them; the few that escaped disappeared into private homes, leaving no trace.

But the breed was now firmly established in the west, so it was not lost. In 1921 there began the curious paradox of returning breeding stock to China. But again these were lost during the Communist Revolution. Thus, to the original looting of the Palace and carrying away a few of these little dogs we owe the survival of our wonderful Pekingese breed.

Originally, in old China dogs were kept for what they were intended - either for hunting, guard, sheep dogs or palace pets - yet without the spur of showing and the skill and work of dedicated Pekingese lovers, we should not have the Pekingese of today, far more beautiful and hardy than the original Chinese. "They are a triumph of cultivation; the gardeners of the Summer Palace who curled the chrysanthemum petals and gently coaxed the peony buds into full flower would have understood."

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