Adept at running and hunting, hsi's are pictured on murals of hunts from the Han (206 B.C.-- 220 A.D.) and T'ang (618-907) dynasties. Nine of the dogs shown in Ten Fine Dogs by the Ching dynasty court painter Giuseppe Castiglione (1698--1768) are hsi's.
細犬善跑，最適於打獵，漢唐壁畫中的獵犬都用它；郎世寧畫的十駿犬中，九隻是細犬，傳說這都是藩國進貢的。