Eunuchs and their personal hierarchies ran the Imperial
households. Li Lien-Yang whom Tzu Hsi (The Empress Dowager)
named Chief Eunuch was made responsible for overseeing the
breeding and Shih Tzu selections to be presented to her for
possibilities of becoming part of her "Shih Tzu entourage."
The Empress kept complete pedigrees and descriptions of physical
markings for all Shih Tzu used as breeding stock. Imperial
selections of the best specimens of Shih Tzu were based on
health, temperament, conformation, and markings. Because of
religious reasons, Shih Tzu of parti-colors with perfect facial
marking and perfect saddle were held in high esteem by the
Empress. Solid color Shih Tzu were prized by her as well.
Although many of today's breeders assume Empress Dowager favored
gold and the gold and white Shih Tzu, and even think the Empress
surrounded herself only with gold and the gold-white Shih Tzu,
the assumption is most likely not true. The favorite Shih Tzu of
all time of the Empress Dowager was a solid black Shih Tzu,
named Sea Otter.
The Empress Dowager was wise about the laws of Shih Tzu color
inheritance. She knew of the importance of the darker shades of
brindle and silver and of black in maintaining pigmentation of
Shih Tzu eye color and coat color.
The Chinese produced pure lines of dogs, such as the Shih Tzu,
for centuries before the practice became prevalent in the West.
For political reasons, the Empress entertained wives of various
ambassadors and diplomats from time to time, and gave them
valuable gifts. In the beginning Shih Tzu were not among the
gifts, despite the interest the foreign ladies showed toward the
Shih Tzu. Eventually, a few of the Shih Tzu were given as gifts
to foreigners, but there is some evidence that the eunuchs fed
powdered glass to the Shih Tzu to cause death rather than permit
them to leave China. The Shih Tzu were kept as secret for many,
many years.
Westerners living in China at the time considered association
with the Dowager Empress to be the highest form of status. This
attention from visitors may have been instrumental in the
Dowager Empress' decision to present some of her treasured Shih
Tzu to her admirers.
By the early 1900s, several Shih Tzu were introduced into Europe
by returning diplomats and ladies. Also, the eunuchs assigned to
breeding, whelping, and general maintenance of the Imperial Shih
Tzu would do anything for financial gain. There were indications
that falsified breedings took place and Shih Tzu puppies were
bartered and sold outside the Forbidden City of affluent Chinese
and even to the Foreign Devils.
It has been speculated that the Dowager Empress had the Emperor
Kuang-hsu secretly murdered just hours before her own suicidal
death so that she would be the last Imperial Ruler of China.
With her death, along with all else that occurred, the fate of
the Shih Tzu became tenuous.
Fire destroyed animals and large portions of the inner chambers.
The eunuchs who fled prior to the fires within the Palace took
much of the Shih Tzu breeding stock and finest specimens to sell
to foreigners and Chinese noblemen who would pay handsome prices
for the Shih Tzu dogs and treasures of the Palace.
In Peking The Comtesse d"Anjou was the recipient of some of the
Palace Shih Tzu stock. Mrs. Lorenz had two black ShihTzu,
Mei-mei and Moer in the 1930s. Mrs. Lorenz owned a Shih Tzu
kennel of almost all black Shih Tzu, and one of her studs, Chu
Po, a solid black Shih Tzu with a strong gold gene behind him,
was a great grandson of Hai Ling (Sea Otter), a favorite of the
Dowager Empress.
Our present day Shih Tzu exemplify the great love the Dowager
Empress had for the Shih Tzu breed. Under her half century of
direction and influence, the Imperial Shih Tzu flourished and
developed in uniformity. These intelligent little beings brought
great happiness to her at times of excessive loneliness and
sorrow. The Empress Dowager was a multi-faceted person of great
depth. The Empress lives on as a spiritual guide and patroness
of our present day Shih Tzu.
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