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A flowered dog (pricked ear Tang dog? Shar-pei?)
Photograph taken in Dali by Phillip Wong, King Kwok
Understanding flowered dog (Tang dog)
Shar-pei in America evolved over time into flowered Shar-Pei or Chinese flowered dog. According to some information, the flowered genes in Shar-pei can be traced back to quite an early period when Shar-pei was first introduced into America. It was carried in the original stock stock shipped to America. This is because of improper breeding practice (the period of Grand Mixing) in Hong Kong during the 1950's and 1960's which went after a " Chinese Fighting Dog " has enhanced the expression of the flowered genes into the gene pool. This enhancement came from two sources, the Tang dong and later on from foreign imports which were equally plausible viewing at the breeding criteria prevalent during that particular period of time.
Traditional Shar-pei from its place of origin should be solid in color as defined by the traditional view preserved within the culture itself. However, it does not implies that the living creature itself is clear of any other hereditary color trait. This is defined by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) in his theory on heredity discovered through many experiments on independent assortment and segregation of genes.
This is a typical "Bruce Lee" case. He is an American by definition of nationality (passport) but his morphology is very Asian. So Chinese here tend to regard him as still a "Chinese". But Chinese married to Caucasian does not necessarily always produce an Asian morphology. We have come across very Caucasian look in actual life. By morphology, this particular child is not a "Chinese" but it definitely has hereditary Chinese trait. This will help us understand why it is much more easier for Americans to accept a flowered Shar-pei, but for culture in China, it would be difficult because of its morphology.
By Chinese talk, a Shar-pei is a type of Tang dog . A Chow Chow is also a type of Tang dog . It is because the traditional Shar-pei has a very strict definition on what constitutes a original Shar-pei within the Tang dog family, namely a strict "bone mouth" definition, therefore, a flowered Shar-pei as known in the west is more likely known as a "flowered Tang dog" in the east. The traditional Shar-pei breeder accept a Chamfa (pricked ear) Shar-pei, with similar likelihood, a Tang dog can have pricked ears also. Then it is also possible with similar likelihood that there can be a "pricked ear flowered Shar-pei" which is basically a Tang dog.
So finally we have closed the genetic loop, a total picture of the original gene pool. Tang dog -- Shar-pei -- Meat mouth -- Flowered -- Pricked ears -- Tang dog . This is why Shar-pei seemed came out from a "Pandora box".
Various photos of flowered tang dogs are shown below:
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Introduction
Flowered dog
