History of Shih Tzu In China

The Chinese Shih Tzu

The history of Shih Tzu in China is a royal one, because they were kept and bred by the royal family in the Forbidden City. The dogs from the orient have always caught the eye of dog lovers from all over the world and these dogs have ranked high on the popularity polls.

The Shih Tzu, which is pronouncedsheed zoo, (singular or plural), means lion, and in their native land are referred to as the Shih Tzu Kou. Kou is the Chinese word for dog. The Shih Tzu originated in ancient Tibet where they were important in the palace life of the Dali Lama.

They arrived in China during the Manchu Dynasty as gifts from the Grand Lama to the Imperial Court in Peking. Their popularity, along with that of the Pekingese and the Chinese Pug, was well established by the turn of the century because of their great temperaments and their laid back personalities.

In Peking, the Shih Tzu eventually where wide spread until the 1940's when the Communist Revolution essentially put an end to all dog breeding endeavors. In fact if it wasn't for a few dogs being smuggled out, the history of Shih Tzu in China would have ended there.

Two dogs, named Wuffles and Mai-Ting, were taken to England and bred. Some other dogs also ended up in Norway. Thanks to the owners of these dogs, we still have this great breed with us today.

In fact it was believed that the breed no longer existed in Asia during the 1960's. As you can see the history of Shih Tzu in China almost ended.