Wucai

Production Process

Wucai — "five colours" — layers multiple overglaze enamels onto an already-glazed and fired piece, then fixes the enamels with a second, lower-temperature firing. Each colour is typically applied as a flat, separated field rather than blended, giving the system its characteristic graphic quality.

Historical Development

Wucai developed through the late Ming dynasty and continued into the early Qing, predating the tonal blending techniques that fencai would later introduce. Where doucai relies on a fixed underglaze outline, wucai's decoration is drawn more freely across the surface in the second firing.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Colours read as distinct, bounded fields — red, green, yellow, and aubergine over a blue or white ground are common — rather than as shaded or blended tones, giving wucai pieces a bold, direct visual character.

Many wucai pieces include underglaze cobalt blue (青花五彩). Those objects combine underglaze and overglaze layers and therefore also belong to Combined Decoration.