History of the Imperial Shih Tzu

In later years these larger Imperials were called a Shih Tzu. An old tapestry picturing an Imperial, shih Tzu and a Pekinese was found recently dating to before the time of Christ. You can see the complete difference of the dogs in this Shih Tzu is a mix between a Llasa and a Pekinese. The Shih Tzu, Pekinese and Imperial have been completely separate breeds of dogs for more than 2000 years. The early ancestors of the Imperial were given to the emperors of the Manchu dynasty of China as gifts of great honor and were only allowed to be owned by the emperors. In China the dogs became little temple dogs and were kept in the palace and carefully guarded and cared for by the court eunuchs. As the lion dogs were the property of the Royal Family, they were not widely known outside the Imperial Palace and it is said that anyone unlawfully owning one was sentenced to death. However, it is thought that puppies which did not meet the Dowager Empress's high standards, were secretly sold by the eunchs to the nobility outside the palace. The Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi was greatly interested in dogs and during her reign she was personally concerned with their breeding and welfare. They were bred to be loyal companions, bed warmers and would lie across the feet of the Emperor and Empress while taking care of court business to keep their feet warm. She would keep a few Imperials and Shih Tzu around her at all times. At one time it was the fashion for the dogs to be carried in their kimono sleeves. #2

After the death of the Dowager Empress in 1908, the breeding of the dogs was no longer important. The young Emperor and Empress were not interested in he dogs and some were given as gifts to noblewomen and men in England and the Netherlands.3 This is how the Imperial was introduced to the west. In 1938 an individual standard was set for the Shih Tzu. at the time the dog fanciers did not know what to do with the Imperials so they lumped them together in with the Shih Tzu. In the United States, fanciers obtained the first shih Tzu in the late 1930's and they gained even more popularity in the 1960's with many imports coming from England and Europe.

Our Chinese Imperial dogs went to the Netherlands and Australia and were kept pure bred and small.4 In the 1960's a small few breeders brought them to the United States. These breeders fought hard to get them recognized but in their ignorance the AKC would only classify our lovely Chinese Imperials as Shih Tzu.5 This is how many of the imperials became mixed with the Shih Tzu. Now the dedicated breeders of the Chinese Imperial dog are fighting just as hard to get them recognized again. These breeders, myself included, have been breeding the Shih Tzu out of our Imperials so as to have again the purity of the Chinese Imperial. We have been quite successful so far.

The Chinese Imperial dog was first accepted as it's own breed separate from the Shih Tzu by the NCA as of March 2005 and by the CPR,UABR, and the NKC in 2006. The Chinese Imperial Dog is also internationally recognized by the IPDBA. A breed club has been formed to support this new breed and is dedicated to promoting and preserving this wonderful little dog.

#1 Chinese Fans with the Chinese Imperial Dog found in Dogs of China and Japan in nature and Art

#2 Dogs of China and Japan in Nature and Art V.W.F. Collier

#3 This is The Shih Tzu Allan Easton

#4 First Account from Jane Seng

#5 First Accounts from Ron Finney and Jane Seng

A Brief History of the Chinese Imperial Dog

Written by Karen Christensen of

Zhen Yi Chinese Imperial Dog

The ancestors of our Chinese Imperial Dog originated in the Imperial Palace of China. The Chinese Imperial Dog was called Imperial Hah-Pah, and the solid colored Imperials were called Chin Ssu Ha-Pah in the Chinese Imperial Palace. In early English books they are called Imperial or "Pekinese Type" when they didn't know what to call them. The Imperial was always a separate dog from the Pekinese, Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso. They were being bred along side them in the very early days but they were not the same dog. The Shih Tzu came much later. #2 The Shih Tzu Kou or Liondog, as the early Imperials were called, were bred in the likeness of the Buddhist perception of the lion because when Buddha came to earth from heaven he rode on a lion. Therefore, the Imperials were also believed to be holy or tribute dogs and were highly prized. When an Imperial became too large then it was put to death as it was highly undesirable.As you can see from this antique Chinese fan, that the Imperial was a small dog indeed. #1

True Facts
Easton's Theory
Breed Standard
Housebreaking

History of the Imperial Shih Tzu

Various sizes, shapes and colors have been bred in China for centuries.

Records substantiate the existence of short, square under the table dogs

from at least 1000 B.C. By piecing together historical facts and

documented records, it is possible to some extent to follow the

development in China of the breeding of dogs likely to be ancestors of the

present day Shih Tzu.

The ancestry of the Shih Tzu is rather obscure, but it is probably that the

breed is primarely of Tibetan origin. The history of the Tibetan Lion

Dogs interwoven with the tenets of Buddhism, but but the lion was not

indigenous to China, so the Chinese and the Tibetan lamas bred there toy

dogs to resemble lions.

The Shih Tzu ( whose name means lion ) is reputed to have been the

oldest and smallest variety of the Tibetan holy dogs and bears some

similarity to other Tibetan breeds. For much of the long and illustrious

history of China, the breed ing of the small Lion Dog was a favorite past

time of succeeding imperial rulers.

Prior to A.D. 624, documents show that small dogs were exported from

Malta, Turkey, Greece, and Persia as gifts to the ruling Chinese emperors.

It is likely that the first small Tibetan Lion Dogs from which the Shih

Tzu is probably descended came to China during the Qing ( ch ing )

Dynasty ( 1644-62 ) as tributes from Grand Lamas to the Chinese Imperial

Court, and that the Chinese interbred these Tibetan dogs with the early

western imports and with the Pug and the Pekingese.

The existence of the Shih Tzu as we know it today is owed to the

Dowager Empress Cixi ( T- zu Hsi ), whose kennel of Pugs, Pekingese,

and Shih Tzu was world renouned.

Although she carefully supervised the kennel during her lifetime and

attempted to keep the three imperial breeds separate, the actual breeding

to produce the smaller variations of the Shih Tzu was carried out by

palace eunuches who secretly crossed the breeds to reduce size and

produce unusual and desirable markings. Some breeding was still

practiced by private individuals and specimens were exhibited, but the

dogs were almost impossible to acquire. So far as is known, the breed

became extinct in China after the Communist revolution.

Seven dogs and seven bitches comprise the gene pool of all existing Shih

Tzu. These fourteen include The Pekingese dog used in an admitted cross

in England in 1952. The other foundation dogs include three Shih Tzu

imported from China that became the foundation of the Taishan kennel of

Lady Brownrigg in England and eight additional imports to England

between 1933 and 1959. Three other Shih Tzu were imported into

Norway from China in 1932 by Mrs. Henrick Kauffman, including a bitch

that was the only Shih Tzu bred in the Imperial Palace to reach the

Western world.

Returning military personnel brought some of the first Shih Tzu into the

United States during the late 1940s and 1950s and began breeding

programs. The unique beauty and outstanding temperament of this new

breed quickly found favor with the fancy.

From the first day of formal AKC recognition ( Sept. 1, 1969 ) the Shih

Tzu catapulted from a relatively unknown breed to one of the most

glamorous and popular of all canine companions.

The Royal Family preferred the smaller Shih Tzus ( imperials 3-6 pounds )

and they were so highly prized the dogs would be allowed to dine at the

Emperors table.

During the Ming Dynasty the dogs were kept in vise-like guilded cages

during in attempts to keep them small. The Dowager Empress Cixi was

known to carry her Shih Tzu in her sleeve. This could have not been done

unless the Shih Tzu was very small. The larger Shih Tzu ( Type 7-8

pounds were stationed through out the palace as alert dogs. When one

Shih Tzu heard anyone outside the palace walls they would bark and alert

the guards of approaching enemies.

The larger Shih Tzus were given to town peasants as gifts because

standard size Shih Tzus was not wanted or preferred by the early royalty

of Tibet. The Tibetan peasants were poor and needed money so they

would sell the Shih Tzus to visitors of China, but the Chinese people

didn't want the Shih Tzu to exist outside of China so they feed them

ground glass and they would die in the long voyages home.

Contributed by

Shih Tzu Breeder-Judge Victor Joris

author of " The Complete Shih Tzu "

Victor Joris is a Judge and Breeder

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History of the Shih Tzu