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Subjects discussed in this page:
- About traditional Shar-Pei
- The sequence of dates for registration of breed standard by various kennel clubs
The awareness of Shar-Pei today around the world has much to do with the geography of Dali . Dali is not very far from Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. Historically because of the British rule and influence since the 19th century, Hong Kong has always enjoyed very good overseas trade connections supported by superb communication infrastructure. Therefore, Hong Kong has very naturally became the jumping board for introducing Shar-Pei to the world.
The Hong Kong played a crucial role in introducing the breed to America and to FCI in Europe. The story of Matgo Law of Down-Homes Kennel in Hong Kong appealed to the world in 1973 to "save the Chinese Shar-Pei" is well recorded in the AKC Dog Book and shall remain a legend to tell in Shar-Pei history. The Sharpei Club Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Kennel Club also played an important role in setting the FCI standard for Shar-Pei which is clearly based on the traditional or bone mouth type.
When Shar-Pei was introduced in abundance to the U.S. in the 1970's, we saw a gradual shift of selective preference towards the wrinkled type. As breeders bred more and more showing the wrinkles, and became what now is called meat mouth Shar-Pei. (Ref: Sharpei Club Hong Kong website, My personal views on the Sharpei, by Lee Fuk Wah)
Since when and why wrinkles became synonymous to Shar-Pei is uncertain but it is certainly a result of a combination of media misconception and general misunderstanding of the breed. A vicious cycle of media misinformation feed into market demand and created further media exposure, and so on. A quick look at a typical newspaper article in 1984 in U.K. had comment such as:
"This year...Shar-Peis crop up in advertising campaigns and the classified pages of the American top people's glossy, Town & Country, are crammed with announcements from breeders....Much of the dog's appeal comes from its rarity and endearing silly-look appearance...and even fully grown Shar-Peis have a complement of luxuriously preposterous wrinkles."
(Sunday Times, December, 1984, U.K.)
The wrinkled Shar-Pei have become a cumbersome animal and prone to many anatomical and systemic diseases of the eyes (entropion) and skin etc., and physiological diseases such as Amyloidosis and FSF (Familial Shar-pei Fever) etc. Eventually, the Shar-Pei is not a Shar-Pei anymore but a in-vivo-collection of diseases in wrinkles.
Furthermore, most of the original stocks shipped to the U.S. were exported from Hong Kong. U.S. breeders eventually found that the Sharp-Pei from the 1970's were infested with flowered genes and the color pattern began to show up in later generations. The flowered genes can be explained by the following reasoning:
In earlier days in early 1960's, some of the Shar-Pei in Hong Kong were bred for fighting, and dogs bred during this time were mainly for its durability and not for the breed standard. (Ref: Sharpei Club Hong Kong website, My personal views on the Sharpei, by Lee Fuk Wah)
In-breeding was a common practice in Hong Kong. Some breeder bred in purpose with other larger dogs to get better size.
All of the above practices could have invited the flowered genes into the blood-lines. In the late 1990's, breeders in the West were slowly awakening to the problems, and more and more attentions are now being given to the traditional type Shar-Pei.
Therefore while it is true that Dali is the place of origin for Shar-Pei, Hong Kong was the gateway that this breed was introduced to the world. It was unfortunate that the mixed type was first introduced to world as Shar-Pei but what can people here do when China was in isolation well until the beginning of 1980's. Chairman Mao died in 1976 but it took many years until it's open door policy was well established in China.
What makes Shar-Pei a Shar-Pei is the texture of the skin and coat and NOT just the wrinkles. The skin wrinkles and the muzzle are the two most prominent differences between a "bone mouth" and a "meat mouth" Shar-Pei.
Registration dates of breed standard by various kennel clubs:
| Name of kennel club |
Initial standard |
Latest up-date |
| American Kennel Club (AKC) |
Approved Oct. 8, 1991. Effective Aug.1, 1992 |
February 28, 1998 |
| Kennel Club, UK |
1985 |
September, 1998 |
| FCI Standard |
1989 |
N° 309 / 09. 08. 1999 |
In regard to the original geographical distribution of Shar-Pei population, it is believed that it mainly covers a radius of about 20 km from Dali, and also Hong Kong and Macau. This is based on the nature of Shar-Pei as a fighting dog entertained by people in the cities. Going back to the Republican times (1911-1949), there were only a few big cities in the Pearl River Delta between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Although we can not rule out other smaller towns between, the four cities of Guangzhou, Dali, Hong Kong and Macau would be the major centers of Shar-Pei activity.
Please refer to pages on History Archives and Shar-Pei chronology for details on sequence of events in the Shar-Pei world.
Health of Shar-Pei is the primary concern for all breeders in the world today.
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Introduction
About traditional Shar-pei
