The Pekingese - A Complete Anthology of the Dog

By Read Books Ltd.

The Pekingese - A Complete Anthology of the Dog gathers together all the best early writing on the breed from our library of scarce, out-of-print antiquarian books and documents and reprints it in a quality, modern edition. This anthology includes chapters taken from a comprehensive range of books, many of them now rare and much sought-after works, all of them written by renowned breed experts of their day. These books are treasure troves of information about the breed - The physical points, temperaments, and special abilities are given; celebrated dogs are discussed and pictured; and the history of the breed and pedigrees of famous champions are also provided. The contents were well illustrated with numerous photographs of leading and famous dogs of that era and these are all reproduced to the highest quality. Books used include: The New Book Of The Dog by Robert Leighton (1907), Dogs And How To Know Them by Edward C. Ash (1925), Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopaedia by Walter Hutchinson (1935) and many others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Jun 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473390980

Book preview

THE PEKINESE SPANIEL

SHAKESPEARE has impressed upon us that to gild refined gold and to paint the lily is ridiculous; and I suppose that if any one, fifty years ago, had propounded the possibility of a breed of toy spaniels, superior to our English variety, to be found in, what were then, the terrœ incognitœ of Pekin and Tokio, that person would have been pooh-poohed. And if he had further suggested that in the centre of the deserts of rainless Thibet, wandered and wagged their tails a third specimen of little toy dogs, with beauties and characteristics of their own, such as would be reckoned enviable from an English dog-fancier’s point of view, that individual would have been laughed to scorn as a visionary dreamer with a touch of Baron Munchausen in him.

Well, fifty years carries us back to 1853, and I refer my readers to the remarkable group of illustrations I am able to give of a Pekinese spaniel, a Japanese spaniel, a Thibet spaniel, and a Lhassa terrier, and ask them, candidly and impartially, to say which group is more pleasing from a general observer’s point of view—the English or the Asiatic toy spaniels? The latter existed, undreamt of in Europe, fifty years ago, and probably five hundred years ago, and possibly five thousand years ago; for things do not change in the Unchanging East, and they plough with the same plough and draw their water from the same wells and carry it in the same vessels as they did when we English were nasty, naked, woad-stained savages. And we have evidence that these types of dogs were the same in that vague past as they are now. But whether developed or not, I do think this group I have referred you to bears marvellous testimony to the dog-fancying of Cathay, and the canine perfection illustrated should chasten our pride, who conceive we are the first and foremost doggy nation in the world. So far as the toy spaniel is concerned, accepting our product at our own valuation (which assuredly would be refined gold in the matter of lapdogs), the Golden East has gilded their prototypes in farthest Asia, and painted them in coats of many colours, superior in hues, shadings, variety, and cut to the dainty costumes of their English cousins.

JAPANESE SPANIEL—Ch. KIKU OF NAGOYA.

PEKINESE SPANIEL—Ch. GOODWOOD LO.

PLATE XXXII.

It is now more than forty years since the first specimens of the Pekinese dog, or lion-dog of China, were imported into England. They were obtained at the sack of the Summer Palace at Pekin in 1860, when English and French, fresh from alliance in the Crimea, joined hands to coerce China. As in the England of the Stuarts, so in Imperial Pekin of the Manchus, the toy spaniels were deemed, and continue to be deemed, a royal breed; and it is interesting to note that in the recent troubles of 1900, when the Emperor and Dowager-Empress fled from the capital, they carried nearly all their lapdogs with them, for in the lavish loot that succeeded their departure, there is record of only three or four of these little pets being annexed. In the sack of the ’Sixties Sir George Fitzroy secured a couple of the bright, dark chestnut shade so much prized nowadays. Concerning this incident, Lord Algernon Lennox wrote in a letter to the Field a few years ago: It may interest your readers to know that the breed of ‘Imperial Palace,’ or ‘Sleeve-Dogs,’ has been at Goodwood since a pair was given my mother, the late Duchess of Richmond, by a relative who was present at the looting of the Summer Palace. Five dogs were found in the apartments of the Emperor’s aunt, who committed suicide on the approach of the troops. The colour of the two dogs was a rich chestnut brown, with black markings, and we have therefore attached importance to this point at Goodwood for over thirty years, during which we have been breeding them. Lord John Hay secured another couple; and a fifth specimen, a fawn and white in colour, was obtained by General Dunne, who presented it to Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria. It was so diminutive that it could curl itself up to sleep in the General’s cap!

But thirty years had to elapse before the Pekinese dog became—I cannot call it popularised; it is still too rare to justify the application of that term—but rather say, in evidence; and not till the very close of the nineteenth century did the Kennel Club grant it a classification. The Japanese Spaniel Club—already well established—permitted an amalgamation soon afterwards, and the result was the Japanese and Pekinese Club, which has done much, and is doing more, to place the fancy on a sound foundation.

Two of my contributors have some very interesting notes about the Pekinese. Writes Mrs. Lilburn-MacEwen:—

The records of the Pekinese dog date very far back into Chinese history, as for hundreds of years the breed has been carefully protected for the Court in the Imperial Palace at Pekin. But the demand which has arisen for them in recent years led to specimens being smuggled out of the palace from time to time, and exported to England. But they have always been most difficult and costly to obtain, and it is possible there may now be some illicit manufactory for them, as the most recent specimens that have been brought from China are certainly not so good as those bred in England from the old, and known to be of the pure stock. Most of the good dogs on the bench are descended from the Goodwood strain and from Mrs. Douglas Murray’s imported Ah Cum, and Siarrh, owned by Mr. George Brown, and formerly the property of the Dowager-Empress of China.

To this Mrs. Tomkins adds—

One is often amused by hearing the Pekinese talked of as a new breed. As a fact, if one could only trace it back, it is one of the oldest breeds in the world. In the bronzes, and other antique works of art of China, which are known to date back thousands of years, you may see a little dog represented and most carefully modelled, which is in appearance exactly the same as the Pekinese of to-day; and no greyhounds figured on mummy wrappings, or Egyptian sepulchre decorations, are more faithful in their likeness to the modern greyhound in the flesh than these toy spaniels, carved or moulded when the world was young, to their descendants in this, its hoary old age. In their native land the Pekinese dogs are known as Shih-Tzu-Kom, which means the Lion-Dog.

Which brings me to nomenclature, and the curious fact that this same name of lion-dog belongs to the West as well as to the East, and has, from distant ages, been applied to the Maltese dog, whose classical name is Canis Leoninus. A passing strange coincidence, this christening of two breeds of lapdogs by an identical name, in two continents, and at a period when, probably, each of those two continents were unknown to the inhabitants of the other. With such a name to hand it is strange to find it not adopted, but in its stead the commonplace generic one of the Pekinese dog substituted. What can be more individualistic, imposing, and happy than the lion-dog of China? To the uninitiated the Pekinese dog might suggest a very pariah. Whilst the breed is still new and, probably, in a transitory stage with us, it might be well to reconsider this ill-fitting designation that has been imposed upon it, and dower it with one that coincides with the name it bears in its own land, which is in itself admirable, and certainly monstrous pertinent to this little mite of impertinence.

As I have hinted, so far as our English fancy is concerned, the Pekinese dog is probably in an unestablished state; that is to say, if we may draw deductions from other breeds, there will, in time, be development in this one. The club has laid down the type as it exists to-day in the specimens considered most perfect; but the data on which the standard is founded are necessarily incomplete, and breeding does much to change, and sometimes improve, first impressions. I have little doubt that, in the process of a few years, some points will be accentuated and others modified. But for the present here is what the dog should be—

A small creature, varying from 4 lbs. to 15 lbs. in weight, and at present divided into classes of under and over 10 lbs. The body is rather long than short; the legs short, very heavy in bone, and the front ones bowed and out at elbow. The principal feature which attracts the eye is the profuse and beautiful coat, long, flat, and rather silky, except on the mane, which stands out like that of a lion. The colours may be red, sable, brindle, or black: in the three former the mask and ear shadings should be black; in the latter the extremities and points may be white. The feathering on tail, toes, front legs, mane, and the breeching should be profuse, and the colour lighter than that of the body coat. In actual animated motion the little dog should look all feather and gossamer, light and zephyry to the eye. The configuration of the body, rather full in front owing to the mane, should fine away towards the loins like that of a lion. It is in the head, however, that the chief characteristic of the breed asserts itself; this should be flat in the skull, with very short, wide muzzle; a black mask extending well up the forehead; large, lustrous eyes; ears set high, and when cocked increasing the breadth of the skull, and in conjunction with the abundant mane, giving the dog a leonine look, as exemplified in the illustration of Ch. Goodwood Lo. Having thus indicated a picture of the dog, I will proceed to quote the criticisms of those with the best knowledge of it.

MRS. DOUGLAS MURRAY.—I consider that some breeders of the dog are inclined to depart from the characteristics of the true type. These dogs should carry long coats, not too silky, with heavy mane and tail, and be well-feathered about hind legs and feet. They should be compact in body, short on leg, with a distinct tuck-up at loin, and no approach to coarseness. The weight should not exceed 10 lbs., and may well be less. The head should be wide, and the skull somewhat flat—the reverse of what is considered essential in the Japanese.

MRS. LILBURN-MACEWEN.—I consider there are now an extraordinary number of good Pekinese in the country, and the increased number of satisfactory specimens on the show benches since last year is quite wonderful. The dogs bred in England are far more true to type than those brought from China lately. I am very much opposed to having the breed limited in size or colour. From the very fact that dogs of all sizes from 3 to 4 lbs. up to 15 and 20 lbs. have been brought away from the Imperial Palace and Forbidden City at Pekin, and that in one litter dogs have been whelped that, when full grown, deviated from 3 1/2 lbs. to 15 lbs. in weight; and also that in the same litter red, sable, brindle and black puppies have been born—all these facts seem to prove beyond question that although the smallest specimens—sometimes called sleeve-dogs—were most prized by the Chinese, they are only varieties of the same breed of lion-dog, and people who say that the sleeve-dog and the lion-dog are two different species, and that red is the proper colour, have no foundation of fact to prove it. Whereas we who go in for breeding know that in the same litters are produced the large specimens and the tiny ones. We also know that if there is a preference in Pekin it is for the golden fawns and silver brindles, and the black with white feathering. But the red, especially those of the darker shade, full of the rich chestnut colour that makes the little animals like animated mahogany, is certainly most attractive to the English eye. The points to be aimed at are dogs of 10 lbs. in weight, and under; with broad skull and muzzle; eyes large and full; short, almost bandy, fore legs; short, tubby bodies, with distinct tuck-up; long coat, not too sleek; ample feathering on feet and ears; good, gay carriage and length of tail, and strong bushy mane.

MRS. TOMKINS.—Many of the present-day dogs fail in type, being weak in head, too long in face, too snipey in muzzle, too long in leg, and not falling away enough in the hindquarters. The Pekinese proper should be very much out at elbows, with legs well bowed; directly a Pekinese is straight in front it loses a large amount of its quaintness, and the dog, however good in other points, is, in my opinion, spoilt. Personally I like them small—not more than 8 lbs.—so long as type is retained. The colour should be the glorious red chestnut of the Goodwood strain. The muzzle should be broad, and the face short, with well-defined black mask; the body heavy in front, and falling away at the loin. And the coat must be profusely feathered at all the proper points.

Other fanciers write, I think the present type very good. Really beautiful Pekinese are to be seen at every show, and people are beginning to appreciate their unrivalled charms.—I am quite satisfied with the breed as it exists in the best specimens.

As pet dogs there can hardly be any to surpass the Pekinese, both in its beauty and its habits a pattern to drawing-room dogs. Here are some encomiums:—

They are far more intelligent than most breeds; far more restful in their ways; quicker to learn as puppies and most companionable. They have ways quite different from other dogs—funny habits of their own, such as washing their faces with their front paws. As a rule mine never lick, but rub their faces, or the under part of their chins against the cheeks of any one to whom they desire to show endearment. They will learn any trick quite easily. Best of all, they are hardy, and object to being in hot rooms or indoors if they can get out.—They are gifted with charming manners and most intelligent, owing perhaps to heredity, and the great antiquity of the breed in Pekin, where they have been lapped in the luxury of the Imperial Palace for many centuries, and, perchance, imbibed some of the placid etiquette of the Celestial.—I certainly prefer Pekinese to any breed I have ever had, and should not now care to go in for breeding other dogs again.—Pekinese are so intelligent and clean in their habits that they make delightful house dogs. They are also excellent with children, and you could not have better nursery or school-room pets. They are good watch-dogs, and, living as I do in an old house, I know of their value where mice, and even rats, are concerned.—They are very beautiful, full of life and pretty ways, and I find them hardy, easy to rear, and most remunerative. Their great charm is in their quaintness; they are so unlike other breeds in ways and appearance.—The more one breeds Pekinese, the more one is struck with their peculiarity. When I look at my Pekinese, its individuality, originality, and suitability to the most luxurious surroundings satisfies me that our Western canine civilisation is a failure, and that the Anglo-Saxon toy spaniel, with its exaggerated deformities, is completely out-played by the harmonious ideal of the Mongolian of what a true and beautiful toy spaniel ought to be.

And here perhaps I may be permitted to mention my own personal experience of the little Chinese dog. When I started this book I was in search of a small breed to fancy, being no longer able to keep a large outdoor species of hound. It occurred to me that I might very well allow myself to be guided by the replies I received to the question which I put, asking every fancier what particular delight, satisfaction, or fascination he found in the breed he owned. But when I came to read the answers to this simple question with a view to picking out the best sort of dog for my requirements, it was very much like selecting the best sovereign out of sixty newly-minted ones! For all the breeds were the best—all the most affectionate, the most faithful, the most intelligent. Could you credit the evidence of my contributors, each breed in turn was better than any others, until in reading the panegyrics one was staggered with bewilderment that such things could be. In this dilemma I let the three cardinal dog-virtues—fidelity, intelligence, and affection—go by the board, and determined to be guided by the possession of quaintness in the breed of my ultimate choice. Not many breeds were quaint, and there is something very attractive in quaintness. This narrowed my choice to chows, schipperkes, griffons, French bulldogs, Japanese spaniels and Pekinese dogs—all foreign breeds you will observe, quaintness not being an English canine characteristic—and after mature consideration I plumped for the Pekinese. With the result that I am now practically qualified to write enthusiastically thereon, to acquiesce in and confirm all the high praise of the variety catalogued in the previous paragraph, and to add to it the assertion that, no matter how fond a person may be of dogs, or how intimate with their inner consciousness, thoughts, or traits, mental and physical, I believe he will learn more from carefully studying a Pekinese spaniel than ever he dreamt of before in his doggy philosophy. For it is a dog apart—a dog that has brought down to the present and the West peculiarities it contracted during the childhood of the world in the Far East. It has in it manners and customs that will amaze and amuse. And for its fanatic devotion to those it takes a fancy to, even in an animal whose devotedness has passed into a proverb, it is extraordinary, almost eccentric, positively excessive.

With a view to obtaining some original information for this section of my book, I wrote to a naval friend on one of the warships in the China squadron, asking him to glean any facts he could, and more particularly to send me a description of an ideal lion-dog from John Chinaman’s point of view. The reply was a long strip of paper covered with strange hieroglyphics, written perpendicularly and very badly. These I caused to be translated, but I do not vouch for the translation being classical, or that the contents were composed (as I am assured) by no less a personage than the Dowager-Empress of China; wherefore I publish the following without prejudice, and for what it is worth, as a contribution to the limited lore relating to the lion-dog of China.

THE IDEAL LION-DOG OF CHINA.—Pearls dropped from the lips of Her Imperial Majesty, Tsze-Hsi, Dowager-Empress of the Flowery Land of Confucius.

Let the lion-dog be small; let it wear the swelling cape of dignity round 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 righteous harmony boxer.

Let its eyes be large and luminous; let its ears set like the sails of a war-junk; let its nose be like that of the monkey god of the Hindoos.

Let its fore legs be bent, so that it shall not desire to wander far, or leave the Imperial precincts.

Let its body beshapedlikethat of ahunting lion spying for itsprey.

Let its feet be tufted with plentiful hair that its footfalls may be soundless; and for its standard of pomp, let it rival the whisk of the Thibetan yak, which is flourished to protect the Imperial litter from the attacks of flying instincts.

Let it be lively, that it may afford entertainment by its gambols; let it be timid, that it may not involve itself in danger; let it be domestic in its habits, that it may live in amity with the other beasts and birds and fishes that find protection in the Imperial palace.

And for its colour, let it be that of the lion—a golden sable, to be carried in the sleeve of a yellow robe; or the colour of a red bear, or a black bear, or a white bear, or striped like a dragon, so that there may be dogs appropriate to every costume in the Imperial wardrobe, whose fitness to appear at public ceremonials and functions shall be judged by their colour and their artistic contrast with the Imperial robes.

Let it venerate its ancestors, and deposit offerings in the canine cemetery of the Forbidden City every new moon.

Let it be taught to refrain from gadding about; let it comport itself with the dignity of a duchess; let it learn to bite the foreign devils instantly.

Let it wash its face like a cat with its paws; let it be dainty in its food, so that it shall be known as a Royal and Imperial dog by its fastidiousness.

Shark’s fins and curlew’s livers and the breasts of button quails—these are the foods on which 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, without any milk; or the milk of the antelopes that pasture in the Imperial demesne, without any tea; or soup made from the nests of the sea swallow.

Thus shall it preserve its integrity and self-respect.

And for the day of sickness, let it be anointed with the clarified fat of a leg of snow leopard, and give it to drink a throstle’s egg-shell full of the juice of the custard apple, in which has been dissolved three pinches of shredded rhinocerous horn, and apply to it piebald leeches. So shall it recover.

But if it dies, then remember that man is not immortal, and thou, too, must die!

As a digestive after this I append the standard of points of the breed as laid down by the Japanese and Pekinese Club.

STANDARD OF POINTS OF THE PEKINESE SPANIEL

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—That of a quaint and intelligent little dog, rather long in body, with heavy front, chest, and bow-legs (i.e., very much out at elbow), the body falling away lighter behind. The tail should be carried right up in a curve over the animal’s back, but not too tightly curled.

SIZE.—In size these dogs vary very much, but the smaller they are the better, provided