History

For much of its long history China, vast and impregnable, was a closed society immune to outside influences. As such, China developed a culture unique to itself. This singularity is clearly seen in Chinese dog breeds. From the clownish Pug to the dignified Chow Chow, China’s dogs are breeds apart, with their own look and feel. Among this ancient canine clan, perhaps none is as uniquely Chinese as the Shar-Pei.

Native to China’s southern provinces, the Shar-Pei goes back more than 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. It was believed to have been a peasant’s dog, and in the manner of peasant’s dogs in all times and places, the Shar-Pei was expected to be versatile. Chinese farmers employed these rugged, intelligent dogs as hunters, herders, and guardians of livestock against predators and rustlers.

The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949. The Communist regime frowned on dog ownership and systematically slaughtered much of the mainland’s purebred dog population. A few good specimens of the Shar-Pei were preserved, however, in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The breed’s documented U.S. history began in the mid-1960s, but American interest in the breed truly began in 1973. In that year, a Hong Kong breeder named Matgo Law appealed to the U.S. fancy to save the endangered Shar-Pei from extinction. The enthusiastic response from American dog lovers ensured the breed’s survival. The AKC recognized the Chinese Shar-Pei in 1992.