Information About the Pekingese Breed

This room in Meili's Palace is full of information about the wonderful Pekingese Breed. It is one of
the most intriguing, rich, and complex histories of any breed, and it spans many centuries. Please
bookmark this page and return to it in the future- I will have a history of the breed as well as current
show winners and famous pekes featured here. Thanks! Nicole

Mythology
The peke is a breed that has not only a rich history, but a rich mythology as well. The most common story
about the pekes origin is that of a lion who falls in love with a marmoset. Obviously, due to the lions great size, the union could never work, so the lion petitioned the gods to make him small enough to be with his love, yet still retain his brave heart and lion sized nobility. The offspring of the marmoset and the lion is what we now know as the pekingese- a dog with the size and face of the little monkey, and the mane and heart of a lion.

Stautes of Pekingese (or lion dogs) are very prominent through out China and other Asian countries such as Taiwan. Usually they come in pairs, and are set on either sides of gates or doorways as guardians. The pairs of statues are identical, except one of the dogs usually has a puppy between her feet, indicating that this is the female. The lion is a symbol of Buddha, and the Chinese sought to breed dogs that resembled these sacred animals. The Pekingese was bred to have a thick mane and flat face. The Buddhist monks bred pekes for centuries, and they were treasured by the Chinese royalty. The penalty for harming or stealing these dogs was "death by a thousand slices"!

These statues are in the Lion Dog museum in Taiwan. I was very lucky to go there in the Summer of 2000. This particular museum was on the coast. It was full of pairs of Lion Dog statues.