Tangsancai refers to the tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A. D.), a painted earthenware which appeared in the wake of celadon. Developed on the basis of the green and brown glazed- pottery of the Han Dynasty, it represented a peak in the development of Chinese ceramics and was already well-known in the world in its time. Tri-color pottery in the Tang Dynasty mainly had three colors: yellow, brown and green. There were also blue and natural colors. The tri-color pottery was mainly burial objects consisting largely of horses, camels and plates. It was the mark of the florescent period of the Tang Dynasty .

    The tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty was developed some 1,300 years ago by drawing on the skills of Chinese painting and sculpture and employing on the bodies the techniques of clay-strip forming and incising. The lines thus produced were rugged and powerful. Then glazes of different colors were painted on and, while chemical reactions took place in the process of firing in the kiln, they dripped naturally so that the colors mingled with each other and formed smooth tones. Tri-color pottery had to be baked twice. First, bake the clay mould at a temperature of about 1,000℃. After it is cooled down, paint the baked mould with glaze. Rebake it under a temperature of 800℃to get the color needed.

    The tri-colored Tang flourished during a rather short period of time (the 8th century) of the dynasty, when pottery pieces of this category were used by the aristocrats as funerary objects. So the finds today are limited in number and are considered to be rare treasures, valued for their brilliant color and life-like shapes.

    True-to-life shaping and bright colors are its features of the Tri-color Tang. Imitations now produced in Luoyang, Xi'an and other cities of China are well received as tourist souvenirs because of their close resemblance to the authentic works.