Pomp and Pageantry, Chinese Dog Show Style

By Dr. Bob G. Smith

The second trip to China was filled with more exciting new adventures for this country boy from Alabama. Venturing out from Shanghai into Zhengzhou to judge an all-breed dog show was a great experience as it was the first dog show presented in this area of China.

Thus, it was a big event for lots of people who had never been to a dog show. Lots of “oohs and aahs”, lots of pointing and giggles as they experienced the “wonder of a dog show,” something some of us often take for granted. The show was sponsored by a new local dog fanciers group. A few of the exhibitors had shown to me in Hangzhou last year, but a very few. So having new exhibitors, new dogs, and new breeders as part of this judging experience was a wonderful way to expose me to new friends and also new friends to the world of dog shows, Chinese/American style.

The outdoor show was staged on the property of a complex of businesses: several pet shops, nursery with indoor and outdoor plants, and several related businesses, all enclosed in a large glass-walled building. Since red and gold appear to be the official colors of China, the carpet for the one large outdoor ring was bright red, crowned by a long table for dignitaries. The table, too, was covered in red and decorated with flowers arranged in hues of red with a golden backdrop flanking the table. Trophies, which were bountiful for every win, adorned the skirt of the expansive table. The ring had an open configuration with the grooming area and entrance onto the red carpet located behind the massive sign flanking the long table. There was no baby gates fencing enclosing the ring. Large Ficus trees in decorative pots were evenly spaced around the ring. Some appeared to be of the Bonsai type, with trunks intricately woven from roots to foliage. (Because of the culture, an emphasis on pageantry, celebration, and motifs was prominent. I feel it is critical that cultural details be included as well as dog show information.)

As I indicated in the previous Canine Chronicle article, “Travels With Bob on the Orient Express”, trophies were presented by two beautiful young women. They were hired to greet me at the airport with dog club/sponsors and local dignitaries and to present a gigantic bouquet of fragrant and beautifully arranged flowers. This was a great welcome for this travel-weary judge after 18 hours of flight time! Unfortunately, the beautiful flowers I received at the airport were left behind because there was no way to appropriately transport them on the next leg of the journey to the Tibetan Mastiff Museum and Kennel known appropriately as the China Henan Zhankui ZangAo Development Company, LTD. (More about this stage of the trip in next month’s article: “How To Define A ZangAo” which will describe that visit, the museum, and the famous Tibetan Mastiff kennel of Mr. Wang Zhankui.) The two other women in the picture (second from the end on my left) are Ting Ting Wang, my hostess, dog handler, breeder, interpreter, and great friend. The young woman at the edge of the picture is Lyla Jiang who made arrangements, took entries, organized the seminar I presented, and served as technician to this less-than-techie presenter. The gentleman in the picture to the left is the owner of the show facility and sponsor of the dog show. To my knowledge, there is no national registry like an “AKC”, to regulate and/or support the breeding, registration, and exhibition of dogs in China. Different groups in different areas of the country sponsor dog shows without the support of a licensed superintendent, national organization (i.e., AKC-type organization) and with limited breed clubs. Some are FCI approved shows; others are AKC-type events.

There were four BIS classifications at the show: BIS Baby, BIS Puppy, BIS Junior, and BIS Adult. Competition in the 7 AKC-type Groups was held in each of those classifications. Once each classification had been judged by group, a BIS for that level was then awarded. Then, the overall BIS was decided. At this show, in addition to nice trophies, cash was awarded to the overall winner. It was an exciting day for the spectators with lots of applause, cheers from fellow exhibitors for the winners, and the judge who loved every minute of it. The spectators were so into the activities that they often encroached onto the show area and had to be reminded by the ring steward to avoid the showing area.

My eventual overall BIS winner was a beautifully balanced and effortlessly moving Miniature Schnauzer who beat out a wonderful young Golden Retriever for the top honors. On another day, the Golden could have been the top winner.

Our entourage traveled by car for the next leg of our journey to the “cold day in hell” motel I wrote about in the previous article. No hot water when we awoke the next morning after a wonderful night in Dengfeng watching an outdoor pageant depicting the development of the Shaolin Temple and how the Monks of that temple developed the Kung Fu martial arts.

A cold windy outdoor setting was made bearable by the “renting” of heavy military coats to stave off the dampness. This production was staged outdoors on the wide of a steep mountain with a cast of close to 1,000 actors with several live goats and sheep participating in the pageant. The animals made their entrance on cue from deep in the natural forest framing the many natural staging areas, crossed a creek behind the herdsman, made their way across several hills and plateaus and exited behind the herder. There was exotic and precise military style dancing with movements of Kung Fu choreographed for the pageant, beautiful singing featuring operatic solos, wonderful accompaniment, and large choirs contributed to this exciting outdoor pageant. The next day we traveled to the Shaolin Temple in Henan.

Kung Fu Fighting

The next major stop was at the Shaolin Temple near Henan. The significance of this abbey (other than its religious importance as a Buddhist temple) is that it was the “birthplace” over 450 years ago of Kung Fu, the martial arts genre of self-defense. It was surprising that such an aggressive, defensive sport/self-defense method would grow out of the daily activities of Buddist monks at this temple.

Almost all of the statues of Buddha were sculptured of gold. In one of the five temples, there was one indentation in the stone floor near an altar created over the years by the monks who were practicing the methods of Shoalin Kung Fu at the altar as part of their worship. The President of the Temple developed the martial arts to help the monks with their general health and to help defend themselves.

There were at least 5 connected terraces built into a mountainside on which temples existed and as an old mature man, climbing steep stairs to each terrace, approximately 150 steps to traverse, was exhausting. However, the beauty of the temples, the statues, the vessels for burning incense, the mix of the people worshiping there were incentive enough to continue the climb.

As a remembrance of my time at the Shoalin Temple, my Chinese friends presented me with a beautiful, handmade stainless steel sword with rosewood handle made by the monks of the Shoalin Temple. The face of the blade is adorned with the engraving of my name. The sword is housed in a hand-crafted rosewood scabbard resplendent with several golden tassels. The beautiful sword and scabbard are approximtely 3 feet long and encased in a felt-lined box for storage or display. It is an unexpected keepsake that I will cherish forever.

Through the Eyes of This Judge

Another highlight of my trip was being asked to conduct a seminar titled “Through the Eyes of The Judge.” The day after the all-breed show at least 25 people stayed at the show for a half-day seminar focusing on what this judge looks for in the ring. My focus was on four areas: adherence to breed standard, breed type, movement, and physical examination. I also included remarks about the history of dog shows, disqualifications (when appropriate), and ring preparation. The attendees were interested, inquisitive, attentive, and very receptive. After the seminar and lunch, several breeds of dogs were presented to me and my hostess for us to examine and then discuss handling techniques, grooming, and even diet. There were many, many questions from handlers, breeders, and owners that indicated their eagerness to learn and improve their breeding, handling, and owning skills.

I am looking forward to returning again next year in another part of this interesting country named China. It appears there is a cadre of very enthusiastic dog fanciers who are very mobile and travel frequently throughout the Far East as well as to the U.S.

It is my hope that breeders exporting stock to fanciers in China would send quality stock and not sell stock that is already known to have problems. If a breeder from China wishes to breed a better dog, but only has mediocre stock sold (sometimes for astronomical prices) to them, they are at the mercy of the foreign breeder. Most stock is purchased through the internet or over the phone without the opportunity to personally examine or have an agent go over the dog. Some U.S.-bred dogs that were exported to China I examined had terrible bites, poor tailsets, cow hocks; some lacking breed type. According to the owners, most had been sold to them as “top” prospects for breeding and showing. I hope U.S. breeders and breeders from foreign countries are exporting good quality stock to other countries in order to enhance the breed, and not use a foreign country as a market for disposing of inferior stock. (My soapbox…. challenge me… and I’ll get on it again, even louder.)

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Posted by Alex on Feb 4 2014. Filed under Current Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.