Fengjing
Encyclopedia
The Fengjing pig is a domestic breed from Shanghai
, China, named after the town which forms a district of Shanghai. Its main locations are in the districts of Jinshan
, Songjiang
and Wujiang
. The Fengjing is classified as a type of Taihu pig
which all occur in the narrow region of mild sub-tropical climate around the Taihu Lake region.
The Fengjing is a large black pig with large floppy ears. It is distinguished by its distinctive highly wrinkled face and also has a wrinkled body. The Fengjing has very high rates of breeding, producing two litters per year of an average 12 piglets at first parity rising to 17 piglets at third parity with 12 surviving to be weaned. Litter sizes of up to 20 occur regularly. The pig grows relatively slowly and has a good, succulent, taste.
The peak of Fengjing production occurred around the late Qing Dynasty
with annual production of 200,000 pigs from the city of Fengjing. More recently, interest has grown in Western countries for the possibility of using this pig in the female line of a breeding program with the hope that they can improve the taste, disease resistance and litter size while retaining the fast growth of Western breeds, possibly using genetic engineering
techniques. Fengjing pigs were brought into the US in 1989 under a United States Department of Agriculture
scheme with the University of Illinois and Iowa State University
.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China, named after the town which forms a district of Shanghai. Its main locations are in the districts of Jinshan
Jinshan District
Jinshan District of Shanghai is neighbouring Zhejiang and near Hangzhou Bay. It has a land area of 586.14 km² and a population 536,900 as of 2001....
, Songjiang
Songjiang District
Songjiang District of Shanghai has a land area of 605.64 km² and a population of 1,582,398 as of 2010. Its main town is Songjiang, connected to Shanghai by Shanghai Metro Line 9.It was Songjiang County until 1998.-Significant Features:...
and Wujiang
Wujiang, Jiangsu
Wujiang is a county-level city in the southernmost of Jiangsu province, South East China. The total area of Wujiang is 1,176 square kilometers, with a population of 1.5 million.-Geography:...
. The Fengjing is classified as a type of Taihu pig
Taihu pig
The Taihu pig is a domestic breed from the narrow region of mild sub-tropical climate around the Taihu Lake region in the lower Yangtze River valley of China. The breed is a large one, black in colour with a heavily wrinkled face. It has a large head with a broad forehead and large folded ears...
which all occur in the narrow region of mild sub-tropical climate around the Taihu Lake region.
The Fengjing is a large black pig with large floppy ears. It is distinguished by its distinctive highly wrinkled face and also has a wrinkled body. The Fengjing has very high rates of breeding, producing two litters per year of an average 12 piglets at first parity rising to 17 piglets at third parity with 12 surviving to be weaned. Litter sizes of up to 20 occur regularly. The pig grows relatively slowly and has a good, succulent, taste.
The peak of Fengjing production occurred around the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
with annual production of 200,000 pigs from the city of Fengjing. More recently, interest has grown in Western countries for the possibility of using this pig in the female line of a breeding program with the hope that they can improve the taste, disease resistance and litter size while retaining the fast growth of Western breeds, possibly using genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
techniques. Fengjing pigs were brought into the US in 1989 under a United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
scheme with the University of Illinois and Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
.