Tang Sancai (Tri-Color Ware) Firing Technique

Tang sancai is a distinctive low-fired glazed pottery that flourished in the Tang dynasty, now over thirteen centuries old. 'Sancai', or 'three colors', refers to glazes of chiefly yellow, green and white over a white body, brilliantly hued. Because great quantities were unearthed at Luoyang, it is known as 'Luoyang sancai'; since the Qianlong reign of the Qing the Gao family of Mengjin fired it in small kilns, keeping the craft alive.

Firing uses local white kaolin for the body in a two-stage method: the modeled and dried piece is first biscuit-fired above 1,000°C, then glazed in yellow, green and white and fired again to color at about 900°C. In the kiln the glazes run and merge into vivid, natural and ever-varying patterns, resting entirely on the maker's command of heat and color.

The Tang sancai firing technique is a national-level item of intangible cultural heritage. As an outstanding expression of Tang ceramic art, it distills the high-Tang aesthetic and a spirit of cross-cultural exchange; the sancai horses, camels and figurines unearthed at Luoyang stand as material witnesses to the grandeur of the Tang.

Fine examples of Tang sancai can be seen at venues such as the Luoyang Museum, while workshops and display spaces around Mengjin show the craft from modeling to glaze-firing — a chance to feel the living transmission of this Tang masterwork.