It was in the year 1860 that British troops stormed the Imperial Palace in Peking, finding the five Lion Dogs or Pekingese, which were to become the founders of the breed in England. Before this date, these small and courageous animals were sacred dogs of China, guarded by special attendants whose duty it was to look after them on the penalty of death should harm befall one of their royal charges. Just when or how the Pekingese came into being is a question to which we have no definite answer. The popular ancient legend relates that he is the offspring of a lion and a marmoset, the former of which sacrificed his size and strength but not his brave heart for love of the diminutive charmer. But undoubtedly the breed is of the most ancient origin. Through the centuries We find reference to these little Lion Dogs in early Chinese literature, and they often appear in Chinese paintings or porcelain. The last ruler of the old Chinese Empire, the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, loved these small dogs, and they were honored residents in the Imperial Palace. While the Chinese did not keep written pedigrees, they were selective in the breeding of their dogs, and possessed remarkable ability to remember the ancestors of every dog for several generations. Of the dog now called the Pekingese, Empress Tzu Hsi said: "Let the Lion Dog be small; let it wear the swelling cape of dignity around its neck; let it display the billowing standard of pomp above its back. Let its face be black; let its forefront be shaggy; let its forehead be straight and low, like unto the brow of an Imperial harmony boxer. Let its eyes be large and luminous; let its ears be set like the sails of a war junk; let its nose be like that of the monkey god of the Hindus. Let its forelegs be bent, so that it shall not desire to wander far, or leave the Imperial Palace. "Let its body be shaped like that of a hunting lion spying for its prey. Let its feet be tufted with plentiful hair that its footfall may be soundless; and for its standard of pomp, let it rival the whisk of the Tibetan Yak, which is flourished to protect the Imperial litter from the attacks of flying insects. Let it be lively, that it may afford entertainment by its gambols; let it be timid that it may not involve itself in dangers; let it be domestic in its habits that it may live in amity with the other beasts, fishes, or birds that find protection at the Imperial Palace. "And for its color, let it be that of the lion-a golden sable to be carried in the sleeve of a yellow robe, or the color of a red bear, or a black or a white bear, or striped like a dragon, so that there may be dogs appropriate to every costume in the Imperial wardrobe. Let it venerate its ancestors and deposit offerings in the canine cemetery of the Forbidden City on each new moon. Let it comport itself with dignity; let it learn to bite the foreign devils instantly. "Let it be dainty in its food that it shall be known for an Imperial dog by its fastidiousness. Sharks' fins, curlews' livers, and the breasts of quails, on these it may be fed; and for drink, give it the tea that is brewed from the spring buds of the shrub that groweth in the province of Hankow, or the milk of the antelope that pasture in the Imperial parks. "Thus shall it preserve its integrity and self- and for the day of sickness let it be anointed with the clarified fat of the leg of a sacred leopard, and give it to drink a throstle's eggshell full of the juice of the custard apple in which has been dissolved three pinches of shredded rhinoceros horn, and apply to it piebald leeches. So shall it remain-but if it die, remember thou, too, art mortal." The ancient Pekingese were bred to vary in size, as they are today, and ranged from the tiny sleeve dogs popular with the ladies, to the larger and more sturdy type. Pure white Pekingese were not popular, since they were regarded as the embodiment of the spirit of some great man now deceased. The Empress loved color, and the bright shadings of the Lion Dogs were especially pleasing to her.

The Book Of The Pekingese
By Anna Katherine Nicholas
And Joan McDonald Brearley