After the Chinese Communists occupied the mainland, dog raising became too expensive for most people. Mao Tse-tung even ordered that dogs be butchered, and the flesh of the sharpei was eaten and its pelt made into fur coats.
中共佔據大陸後，一般人根本養不起狗，絕大多數的狗都被殺掉了，沙皮狗也不例外，於是它美麗的外皮被用來製成婦女的外套，肉則被嗜香肉的人拿去吃掉，所以這種犬種幾乎絕種。