Plate 058 · East Asia
Pekingese
北京犬
“A palace 'lion dog' that left Beijing as spoils of war.”
- Origin
- China
- Imperial court, Beijing
- Town or city of origin
- The point marks the town the breed is linked to.
- Era
- Imperial China (centuries old); reached Britain in 1860
- Today
- Companion · Toy breed
Under editorial review — sources listed below.
Early breed type → Today
Early type · 1861Looty, taken from the Summer Palace in 1860 and given to Queen Victoria — longer-legged and less flat-faced than today's show Pekingese.
Friedrich Wilhelm Keyl · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
NowSheltieBoy · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
History
01 · Origin
Imperial court, Beijing
Kept for centuries as a palace companion of the Chinese imperial court.
02 · Historical role
What it was bred for
A court lapdog associated with the Buddhist lion symbolism of imperial China.
03 · Breed development
How it changed
In 1860, during the Second Opium War, British and French troops sacked the Old Summer Palace in Beijing; a British officer, Captain John Hart Dunne, brought a Pekingese back to England and presented her to Queen Victoria, who named her 'Looty'. The often-told story of five dogs taken from the palace has no support in contemporary documents. The breed was first exhibited in England in the very late 19th century and first registered by the AKC in 1906.
04 · Today
Companion · Toy breed
A dignified, independent companion.
Personality
- Dignified
- Independent
- Loyal
- Confident
General breed tendencies, not guarantees — individual dogs vary with genetics, training and environment. Ratings: this atlas’s editorial summary on a 1–5 scale, for rough comparison between breeds here — not a measurement or a standardised assessment.
- Size
- Toy
- Lifespan
- 12–14 years
- Coat
- Long, straight, profuse double coat with a mane
Field note
Looty, a Pekingese brought back by a British officer after the sack of the Summer Palace in 1860, was given to Queen Victoria.
Recognition & today
- AKC
- Toy Group
- Also recognized by
- FCI, The Kennel Club (UK)
- Popular in
- No reliable data
A Chinese breed that became popular in Western countries around 1900; Wikipedia reports that its popularity has declined in recent years. AKC registrations: ranked 90 among breeds in 2025.
- 中国本土 / 历史犬种 · China-native or historic
Sources2 references
- Pekingese — breed information — American Kennel Club
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/pekingese/
Registry · accessed 2026-10-06 · Used for registry status, AKC group and breed standard reference only.
- Pekingese (encyclopedia overview) — Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekingese
Encyclopedia · accessed 2026-10-06 · Secondary overview; cross-check claims against primary breed-club sources.
Image credits
Friedrich Wilhelm Keyl · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
SheltieBoy · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
Text is written by World Breeds from the references above; it does not reproduce registry descriptions.
