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The town of Dali did not open to the world until after the death of Chairman Mao of China in 1976 which defacto ended the notorious years of the Cultural Revolution. If "Chinese Fight Dog" is the key sentence in describing the period of "Grand Mixing", then "1976" is the key word for describing the period of "Great Meat Mouth Gene Flush".
Particularly in the 1990's, this was a period when large quantities of "Meat mouth", or "Modern type" Shar-Pei were shipped back from Hong Kong to Dali, the place of origin, in order to "improve" the breed for the market.
History is full of paradox. The Mao Communist government isolated its people from contact with the outside world also isolated the Dali Shar-pei traditional gene pool. It was true that Shar-Pei was on the verge of extinction due to natural disaster (the great famine of 1959-1961 in which at least 37 million Chinese died during this period) and political crackdown (Cultural Revolution 1966-1976), however, according to oral testimony of Lee Fuk Wah who ventured to went back during the Cultural Revolution, he saw a reasonable population of Shar-Pei being protected by geographical and political isolation. Due to lack of record, no one can define the scale, or quantify what this "reasonable population" can be, and one can only guess from the general socio-political records of the time. We know that Southern China, because of its vicinity to Hong Kong, Hong Kong people sent tons of relief goods into Guangdong during this time and help the Cantonese cushioned both the natural and political disasters. Therefore, it is very plausible and supported by testimony of Li Fook Wah that a reasonable population of "original" Shar-Pei remained hidden and protected by the agricultural community dispersed through out the Nanhai, Dali, Yanbu, Lisui (in Cantonese is Namhoi, Dailek, Yimbou, Lueisui) country side.
(Red dots on the map shown below indicate locations of the town where Shar-Pei were being found. They are all evenly dispersed around the countryside of Guangzhou.)
1980's was a period in China which can be summarized by the word "recovery and rehabilitation". 1990's can be summarized by the word "economic growth". Hong Kong breeders when they bred and exported the meat mouth type to the western world in the 1980's and 1990's also shipped the meat mouth back to Dali (Dailek). Some Hong Kong breeders even claimed that this type has more "market value". We must also be aware that the "meat mouth" here included the big headed, big meat mouthed but not too wrinkled type to the heavily wrinkles skin bags.
Hong Kong breeders called the heavily wrinkled Shar-Pei "Shar-Pei in trousers".
When you flush an isolated primitive Shar-Pei gene with foreign genes (Pit Bull, Boxer, meat mouth genes etc.) two times in a relative short period of time in history, then is would not be surprising that some of the hereditary diseases that usually associated with meat mouth Shar-Pei become hidden within the Dali gene pool and may "pop-up" again one day when the breeding pyramid become sufficiently large.
However, the observation is that, the more traditional we get, we do see a big improvement in at least the physical condition of the
breed (entropion and skin problems etc.) and the general health of the breed.
In summary, after the two impacts on the original genes, therefore, it is doubtful if we still can identify one "genetically primitive" traditional type today from Dali. This statement is supported by actual experience by many bone mouth breeders in Hong Kong. Recent attempts by Lana Tsan, Phillip Wong, King Kwok, Lee Fuk Wah et al to look for primitive type at least had failed. Because life is full of surprise, we can not rule out that one good specimen may appear suddenly sometime, somewhere, for the present moment, at least we can narrow down the statement to say that traditional primitive type is getting more and more difficult to find even in Dali today.
Please also refer to the "nose" section where we look at Shar-Pei dating from an etymological approach by analyzing the term "butterfly cookie" used in describing the nose of Shar-Pei.
「肉咀基因大沖洗時代」
如果說上述的「大混雜時代」是與中國封閉的年代重叠,那麽「肉咀基因大冲洗時代」是與中國的改革開放的年代吻合。是在1990年代。
1976年毛澤東的逝世標誌著文化大革命的結束,中國從封閉走向開放。 開頭十幾年是休養生息、重新整頓、花在基本建設上。到90年代開始是中國正式經濟起飛的年代。香港與廣東之間的交通四通八達。到80年代末90年代初期其間中國全國寵物市場大興旺,其間大量的肉咀沙皮狗被運回國內,做成對大瀝原種沙皮狗基因的第二次沖擊,將出口美國的混雜肉咀基因大量沖洗了大瀝市場一次,正如一個米缶之內倒入了一盆細沙然後攪均一樣,需要很多功夫才能再將米再分開出來。
其實,美國沙皮狗市場在同樣90年已開始有變化,由於大肉咀沙皮狗帶有很多遺傳病、皮膚病等,漸漸不被市場、消費者所接受。 1995年在美國各地的沙皮狗單獨展己清楚看到走回傳統骨咀沙皮狗的身型與皺褶,全身上下皺褶的大肉咀已不再復見。那麽,那些繁殖出來的大肉咀都去了什麽地方?90年代中國寵物市場的大興旺正好提供了契機。 本來由美國人發明與香港配合發展的肉咀沙皮狗在美國不流行了,最後倒灌回到大瀝,完成了牠的歷史使命。到大約1998年前,大部份的大肉咀沙皮狗已經運回大瀝處理完畢。對大瀝而言,接手了一大批連歐美都沒有市場的肉咀沙皮狗可說是災難性,沙皮狗變得沒有價值,從此一竭不振至今天。由於沙皮狗市場的衰竭,在大瀝也愈來愈少人飼養沙皮狗,飼養傳統骨咀沙皮狗更是少之又少。
在2005年7月16日英國的沙皮狗單獨展,在74隻参加者之中己經完全不見全身皺褶的大肉咀沙皮狗。都已回復到傳統沙皮狗的身型體型與皺褶。 所以當我們今天談及傳統骨咀沙皮狗,必須首先要了解以上的時代背景,才能夠明白沙皮狗的盧山真面目。 只緣身在盧山大霧中,就不能全面看見傳統骨咀沙皮狗的全貌。 作為原產地的大瀝與發源地的香港,沙皮狗今後的發展就是如何發展好傳統的骨咀沙皮狗,作為廣東的一個名牌才有發展希望。一般沙皮狗的水平歐美都已重新整頓,無論在繁殖與養功方面都已經大大地超越了香港,唯有在傳統骨咀沙皮狗方面中港才有其發展的優勢。反者,行內的結論是再延誤保育的話傳統骨咀沙皮狗在今後10到20年必絕種無疑
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Introduction
The period of Great Meat Mouth Gene Flush
