The Pekingese (Chinese Spaniel) is an ancient breed. Numerous legends and myths surround these little dogs. One of the most common myths tells that a lioness, who was tired of the rude displays of attention of her lion, succumbed to the gentle crawling of the butterfly. From this union, the Pekingese appeared – a small dog, which is distinguished by the fearlessness of a lion and the grace of a butterfly.
There is another legend that claims that once a lion fell in love with a monkey, and the Pekingese became the fruit of their love. For centuries, these dogs were bred in the gardens of the Emperor’s palace, located in Beijing. No one dared to take them out, fearing the death penalty, and no one was allowed to keep them at home. Even once one of these miniature dogs was called the incarnation of Buddha by the priests, and she began to be worshiped as a deity.
The first person who began to cultivate this breed is the empress Tsu-Hi, who ruled the Chinese Empire and lived in the 19th century. Interestingly, even in their color, the imperial dogs had to be in harmony with the various colors of the empress’s wardrobe. Tsu-Hi was also the author of the very first extremely poetic “standard” of the lion breed.
History
The story of how these dogs appeared in Europe has several versions. It is more or less certain that the very first dogs came to the British Isles in 1860, when China was defeated in the Anglo-French-Chinese war. When Beijing surrendered to its enemies, the Empress, leaving the city, ordered the slaughter of all her Pekingese. But, fortunately, five dogs still fell into the hands of British soldiers. From these five dogs, brought to England, came the tiny Pekingese, now living on all continents.
True, there is another story of their appearance. British General Dunn, who served in China for a long time, before leaving for England, asked for official imperial permission to give Queen Victoria one of these expensive dogs. But he was refused. When the general was boarding a ship leaving for England, some unknown Chinese approached him and gave him a small basket with a request not to open it before the ship went out to sea. And already on the ship sailing on the sea, General Dunn decided to look into this basket, and there was a tiny little dog sitting quietly with sad eyes looking at him. Thus, Luli – this was the name given to this Pekingese, appeared in the Queen’s palace in London in 1860. And in this city, the little dog was expected to be a huge success.
Even Edwin Landzeer, who was then a renowned animal painter, After the so-called Boxing Rebellion was suppressed in 1900, many Pekingese who were caught in the Empress’s gardens were brought to European countries. In Great Britain they started to breed very successfully. Another major center where the Pekingese were bred is the German manor house in Baden-Baden. Here they built large rooms for dogs, separate ones for males and bitches, and even a special room where the dogs were cut every morning, combed and brushed their teeth. Choice veal and mutton were used as food for the Pekingese. In those years, Pekingese were fabulous money. Then they had many admirers.
The Pekingese will never fuss or impose, he has a great command of the situation. When he sees that you have a desire to play with him, he will immediately become perky, playful and funny. If he understands that you want to do business or relax, then he will become invisible for several hours. The Pekingese is distinguished by benevolence and condescension to people, while he is brave to the point of recklessness in relation to other dogs.
The Pekingese is very sensitive, although it never barks unnecessarily, which distinguishes it favorably from many other breeds of dogs.
