On the bookshelf of the blue eucalyptus family, there is a galloping horse of Tang Sancai, which is lifelike and vivid.

Tang Sancai, the treasure of ancient Chinese ceramic firing technology, the full name of Tang Dynasty Sancai glazed pottery, is a kind of low-temperature glazed pottery prevailing in the Tang Dynasty, the glaze has yellow, green, white, brown, blue, black and other colors, and yellow, green, white three colors, so people are used to calling it "Tang Sancai". Because Tang Sancai was the earliest and most unearthed in Luoyang, it is also known as "Luoyang Tang Sancai".

In 1905, during the construction of the Luoyang section of the Longhai Railway, a number of Tang Dynasty tombs were found in the northern mountain of Luoyang, the ancient capital.

Tang Sancai is a generic term for pottery excavated from Tang tombs, and later scholars regarded it as a term for ceramic classification. Tang Sancai does not refer specifically to those three colors. On all kinds of terracotta figurines, pottery statues, and other pottery excavated in the Tang tombs, some of them are only single color, or two colors, and there are many utensils, but they have more complex and colorful colors. Generally speaking, in addition to the white ground of the carcass, lead yellow, green, and green are the most common, and they are also the most artistic in the blending techniques of the three colors. Tang Sancai has fewer utensils, and a large number of ponies, small domestic animals, and small poultry, all of which have rich artistic craftsmanship, especially the terracotta figurines of various figures, as well as the heads of supernatural images, which are of the most artistic value. The three-color ware is showing a variety of utensils used in the actual life of the Tang Dynasty, and among these utensils, the form of social life at that time is very complete, so that we know that the shape and quantity of the Ming utensils and other artifacts of the burial are determined according to the official rank of the tomb and the size of the door. For example, in the system of Tang Liming utensils, there are more than 90 things in the third grade, 60 things in the fifth grade and more than 60 things, and 40 things in the ninth grade and above. The puppet is a foot tall. Other music bands, the families of child servants, and the prestige costumes are also determined by their rank during their lifetimes. At the end of the early Tang Dynasty, the wind of the thick burial of the beginning of the beginning, and then from the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the wind of the thick burial is very beneficial, and the street is full of bright instruments, the tomb of Chen, the song and dance music is played, the curtain is opened, and the plate bed is set up, and the passers-by are given flowers and human shapes and food and drink, which is like a sacrifice. Because the Tang Dynasty paid attention to the use of three-color Ming ware as burial objects, therefore, since the construction of the Henan Bianluo Railway at the end of the Qing Dynasty, in the Tang tombs in the northern suburbs of Luoyang and other places, a large number of three-color vessels and figurines have been excavated. Regardless of its shape and color, Tang Sancai has a very high artistic intention, which has attracted the attention of people from Japan, Europe and the United States, and purchased at a high price, since then Tang Sancai has been included in one of the world's art parts. The above is quoted from Wang Aijun's art literature "Tang Sancai" of the Junyou Association. The peak of Tang Sancai production was Kaiyuan, Tianbao to the Great Calendar (AD 713 ~ 766). His artistic achievements are reverberating the past and the present, and he is well-known at home and abroad. Tang Sancai was inspired by a sound and strong dynasty, and at the same time, it also concretely and actively reflected the spirit of the times.

Tang Sancai occupies an important historical position in Chinese culture and has left a strong mark in the history of Chinese ceramics. Tang Sancai was born in the Tang Dynasty because of its cultural origins. First of all, mature ceramic technology is the material basis for the birth of Tang Sancai; Secondly, the flourishing style of heavy burials in the Tang Dynasty was the direct guide to its birth; Third, the history and culture of the Tang Dynasty in various fields is the best artistic nourishment for it. The birth of Tang Sancai is also the birth of Sancai glaze decoration technology, which is the process of combining glaze decoration and carcass decoration. The brilliant and brilliant Tang Sancai, its gorgeous and colorful artistic effect has been perfectly played and vividly displayed on the figurines with exquisite sculptures and vivid shapes.

The rise of Tang Sancai in the Tang Dynasty had its historical reasons. First of all, the rapid development of the ceramic industry, as well as the continuous improvement of the level of sculpture and architectural art, have promoted the continuous combination and continuous development between them, so from figures to animals and living utensils can be expressed on Tang Sancai's utensils.

After the rule of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, the national strength was strong and all industries were prosperous, but it also led to the corruption of the lives of some high-ranking officials, so the practice of thick burials became more and more prosperous. Tang Sancai was also a kind of dark weapon at that time, and it was once included in the express regulations of the government, the first grade, the second grade, the third grade, and the fourth grade, that is, how many pieces he could be allowed to bury with him, but in fact, as these dignitaries and dignitaries, they were not satisfied with the express regulations, but they often increased many times more than the official regulations, and did this kind of thick burial. The official style is like this, and the folk style is of course the same, so from top to bottom there is such a thick burial style, which is one of the main reasons why Tang Sancai was able to develop and rise rapidly in the Central Plains at that time.

The Tang Dynasty is the heyday of China's feudal society, so Tang Sancai from another side also reflects the Tang Dynasty politics, culture, life, it is the same as the Tang Dynasty poetry, painting, architecture and other cultures, together formed the melody of Tang Dynasty culture, but it is different from other culture and art, from the modern ceramic history that Tang Sancai is an epoch-making milestone in the history of Tang Dynasty ceramics, because before the Tang Dynasty, only monochrome glaze, at most is the combination of two-color glaze, in the Han Dynasty in China, there have been two colors, That is, the use of yellow and green glazes on the same utensils. After the Tang Dynasty, this colorful glaze color was also used on ceramics. According to some research in the history of ceramics, this is related to the great changes in the aesthetic views of the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, people advocated plainism, and after the Tang Dynasty, it embraced all kinds of cultures, including many foreign cultures, and at this time from the production of painting, ceramics, gold and silverware, it formed the characteristics of a splendid culture.

There are very few records about Tang Sancai in historical books, so it has been forgotten by people for more than a thousand years. In 1928, when the Longhai Railway was built to Luoyang, a number of Tang Dynasty tombs were destroyed, and a large number of Tang Sancai burial goods were found. The common unearthed Tang Sancai pottery includes three-color horses, camels, ladies, musicians, pillows, etc. In particular, the three-colored camels, carrying silk or carrying bands, looking up and neighing, the red-haired and blue-eyed camel figurines, wearing narrow-sleeved shirts and over-brimmed hats, reproduce the life image of the Hu people in Central Asia, and remind people of the scene of camels walking on the "Silk Road" in those years.

A large number of Tang Sancai unearthed were transported to Beijing by antique dealers, which attracted great attention and appreciation from famous scholars such as Wang Guowei and Luo Zhenyu. After that, the Luoyang area continued to have Tang Sancai unearthed, the quantity of quantity, the beauty of quality, amazing. The unearthed area is mainly concentrated in the north of Luoyang City, the south of the city of Guanlin, Longmen and the west of the city of Gushui area, of which Luoyang City unearthed Tang Sancai site as many as more than 20 places, the number of three colors at least 500 pieces. Luoyang unearthed Tang Sancai is a local firing, one is because there is a raw material for the production of Tang Sancai in the north of Luoyang City——— white kaolin, and the other is because it is not far from Luoyang Gongyi City, Da and Xiao Huangye Village found the kiln site of firing Tang Sancai, after many investigations and archaeological excavations since 1976, rich kiln furniture, molds and three-color ware have been found, which fully proves the leading position of Tang Dynasty pottery firing technology.

In 1976, China conducted a large-scale survey of cultural relics, and staff saw a small river with two names in the villages of Da and Xiao Huangye in Gong County (present-day Gongyi City) near Luoyang. On the banks of the Baiye River upstream, the staff participating in the census found white ceramics, so what will be found on the banks of the Huangye River downstream? Scholars marched downstream to what is known as the "Huangye River". There are few roads on the banks of the desolate river, and scholars search carefully, as if none of them know what they can find.

A piece of colored pottery came into view, and in an instant, the active crowd fell silent. The ancient kiln site finally appeared on the bank of the "Huangye River". With the deepening of the excavation, people's emotions are getting higher and higher, because in this ancient kiln, the most preserved is the pottery shards of Tang Sancai. Decades of anticipation finally came to fruition, Tang Sancai's kiln site was found, and "Huangye River" was the place where the painted pottery was fired.

There is no trace of workshops on the banks of the Huangye River now, and the working environment of the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty is no longer possible to investigate. Thankfully, the modern production process preserves the traditions of the Tang Dynasty more completely, and we can also understand the production process of Tang Sancai through the work of modern people.

Tang Sancai's copying and imitation technology, in Luoyang has a history of 100 years, after the development of generations of artists, Tang Sancai technology has been gradually improved, and the firing level has been continuously improved, so that the "Luoyang Tang Sancai" technology and artistic level have reached a certain height. In the international market, Tang Sancai has become an extremely precious work of art, and has been rated as an excellent tourism product at the international tourism conference attended by more than 80 countries and regions, and is known as the "treasure of oriental art". Tang Sancai horses and camels have been presented as national gifts to heads of state and government of more than 50 countries.

The full name of Tang Sancai is Tang Dynasty Sancai glazed pottery, on the same utensil, yellow, green, white or yellow, green, blue, ochre, black and other basic glaze colors are staggered at the same time, forming a gorgeous and colorful artistic effect. "Sancai" means colorful, and does not refer specifically to the three colors.

Tang Sancai is a multi-colored low-temperature glazed pottery, which is made of fine white clay as the tire material, and lead-containing oxide as a co-solvent, with the aim of reducing the melting temperature of the glaze. In the firing process, metal oxides containing copper, iron, cobalt and other elements are used as colorants to melt into the lead glaze to form yellow, green, blue, white, purple, brown and other colors of glaze, but many utensils are mainly yellow, green, and white, and even some utensils only have one or two of the above colors, which are collectively referred to as "Tang Sancai" [5].

The production of Tang Sancai is to be kneaded into a certain shape of white clay after pounding, washing and other processing, and then trimmed and dried, put it into the kiln and fired at 1000 °C, after cooling, glaze and hang color, and then enter the kiln to roast to 800 °C.

Tang Sancai began to be seen in the Tang Gaozong period, the Kaiyuan period was extremely popular, the utensils were diverse, the colors were gorgeous, and the number gradually decreased after Tianbao.

Tang Sancai was used as a burial object during the Tang Dynasty for burial. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the increase of people's attention to Tang Sancai, as well as the development of Tang Sancai's restoration technology, people are keen on the furnishings of the study, which is a good gift for relatives and friends.

Tang Sancai was not only popular in the Tang Dynasty, but also sold well overseas. Tang Sancai is also found in more than 10 countries such as India, Japan, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and Italy.

The production process of Tang Sancai is very complicated. First of all, the mined ore soil should be selected, pounded, washed, precipitated, and dried, and then made into a tire with a mold and fired in the kiln. Tang Sancai's firing adopts the secondary firing method. From the point of view of raw materials, its carcass is made of white clay, and it is fired at °C in the kiln, and the roasted plain tire is cooled, and then the prepared glaze is applied to the kiln glaze firing, and the firing temperature is about 800 °C. In the glaze, a variety of oxide metals are used as colorants, and various colors are presented after calcination.

After the glaze is fired, some characters need to open their faces again, the so-called open face is that the antique products of the character's head are not glazed, it has to go through a thrush, lip point, hair painting process, and then this Tang Sancai product is completed.

The production of Tang Sancai has a history of more than 1,300 years. It absorbs the characteristics of Chinese traditional painting, sculpture and other arts and crafts. Tang Sancai has a complex production process, using finely processed kaolin as the body, using copper, iron, cobalt, manganese, gold and other minerals as the colorant of the glaze, and adding an appropriate amount of lead-smelting slag and lead ash as additives in the glaze. First, the plain blank is roasted in the kiln, and after the pottery blank is fired, it is glazed and fired to about 800 °C in the kiln again. Due to the strong fluidity of the lead glaze, the glaze spreads and flows around in the process of firing, and the glaze of various colors infiltrates and blends with each other to form a natural and mottled gorgeous color, which is a traditional handicraft with a unique style in China.

Tang Sancai is not only expensive in the glaze color is rich and magnificent, and the shape of camels, horses and figures is vivid and expressive, full of life, at that time in the international field, Tang Sancai has been famous, become one of the important items of economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. In 1928, when the Longhai Railway was built to Luoyang Mountain, a large number of Tang Sancai were unearthed, and the antique dealers transported it to Beijing, which was valued by antiquities researchers at home and abroad and collected by antique dealers. After that, the Luoyang area continued to have Tang Sancai unearthed, the quantity of quantity, the beauty of quality, amazing.

Tang Sancai is a kind of low-temperature lead-glazed pottery, in the color glaze to add different metal oxides, after roasting, it forms light yellow, ochre yellow, light green, dark green, sky blue, brown red, eggplant purple and other colors, but mostly yellow, white, green three colors. It is mainly the color glaze coated on the clay blank, which undergoes chemical changes in the baking process, the color glaze changes in shade, infiltrates each other, mottled and dripping, the color is naturally coordinated, and the pattern is smooth, which is a traditional handicraft with a unique style in China. Tang Sancai in the mutual reflection of colors, showing the magnificent artistic charm. Tang Sancai was used for burial, as a spiritual vessel, because its fetal quality is brittle, the waterproof performance is poor, and the practicality is far inferior to the celadon and white porcelain that have appeared at that time.

Tang Sancai's basic molding methods include wheel making, molding, and sculpture, and several methods are often used in combination on a piece of artery. Wheel system is a method of making ceramics with wheeled carts. The main component is a wooden round wheel, there is a vertical shaft under the wheel, the lower end of the vertical shaft is buried in the soil, and the upper end has a hub, which is convenient for the rotation of the round wheel. During operation, the wheel is tossed to rotate smoothly, and the rotational force of the wheel car is used to draw the blank mud into the desired shape with both hands. The wheel making method began in the late Neolithic period of the Dawenkou culture, and the utensils made were regular. Cups, plates, bowls, saucers, bottles, stoves, pots, cans, etc., are mostly made of wheels. Molding, similar to the manual extrusion method in modern ceramic manufacturing. It is mostly used to make small items with simple shapes. There are two types of molding: single mold and mold clamping. The single mold is made by putting mud into the mold and extruding it, which is suitable for decorative decals and other small accessories on the utensils. The double mold is made of two halves pressed and docked, and the clamping is suitable for living utensils, maids, animals and more complex utensils. Sculpture molding is mostly suitable for large servants and complex utensils. The production of a more complex three-color ware requires a variety of molding methods.

The characteristics of Tang Sancai can be summarized into three aspects, namely modeling, glaze color, tire quality, and origin are also one of the influencing factors, first of all, modeling. In terms of modeling, its shape is different from that of ordinary handicrafts, and it is also different from the horses excavated from other eras.

Tang Sancai's shapes are rich and colorful, and can generally be divided into four categories: living utensils, models, people, and animals, and most of them are animals, which may be related to the background of the times at that time. In ancient China, horses are one of the important means of transportation for people, horses are needed on the battlefield, farmers need horses for farming, and horses are also needed for transportation, so there are more horses unearthed in Tang Sancai. The second is that there are more camels, which may be related to the trade between China and foreign countries at that time, camels are one of the means of transportation for long-distance travel, and camels are needed as a means of transportation along the Silk Road. Therefore, the craftsmen reflect it in the handicrafts. The characters are generally more court maids, which reflects the court life at that time.