FROM THE COLLECTION OF GARY GRAFFMAN.
This ancient ink and color drawing on silk appears in a scroll executed by Chou Fang from the T’ang Dynasty (618–907 A.D.). The scroll depicts ladies in waiting, teasing a Shih Tzu with their insect-chasing whip.
HISTORY OF THE
Shih Tzu
The history of the Shih Tzu, meaninglion manein Chinese, was closely intermingled with the Tibetan-Chinese politics during the T’ang Dynasty.
The Shih Tzu is an Asian breed whose ancestry lies both in Tibet and in China. As a result, some of today’s enthusiasts consider it a Tibetan breed while others more closely associate this adorable little dog with China.
TIBETAN BACKGROUND
Although there have been times when the Chinese and Tibetans have cooperated with each other, since the seventh century there has frequently been strife between the two nations. For the sake of diplomacy, Tibetan nobles sometimes took Chinese brides of royal rank. It therefore follows that gifts were exchanged between people of these two great cultures in which mythology abounds. Often these gifts were dogs. The Lhasa Apso, a Tibetan breed and direct ancestor of the Shih Tzu, is said to have existed since 800 B.C., but there is no tangible evidence of this as written historical records in Tibet were not kept until around A.D. 639.
ANCESTRY: CHINA
Over the years, various theories have been put forward regarding the origin of the Shih Tzu. According to one theory, three temple dogs were sent to China around 1650, and from these dogs came the Shih Tzu.
Because the Shih Tzu descended from the Tibetan Lhasa Apso, Tibet is considered the earliest ancestral home of the Shih Tzu. Dogs were given as tribute gifts for safe passage from Tibet to China, the long journey by caravan taking eight to ten months. The Tibetan Lhasa Apsos were not considered sacred animals, but they were treated as prized possessions nonetheless. They were only given as gifts never sold. The dogs were undoubtedly held in high esteem, for it was believed that they carried the souls of monks who had erred in their previous lives.
The Cheltenham Show of 1933, the year before the Tibetan breed standards were sorted out! Here are prominent British fanciers, from left to right: Lady Brownrigg with Hibou, Yangtse and Shu-ssa; Miss Hutchins with Lung-fu-ssu and Tang; General Sir Douglas Brownrigg with Hzu-Hsi and Miss Marjorie Wild with one of her Lhasa Apsos.
Buddhism spread from In
