The story
From Chinese + purple. From being an artificial purple pigment invented by the ancient Chinese.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chinese purple
Today it means: An artificial purple pigment made from barium copper disilicate (“BaO·CuO·(SiO₂)₂”), used in ancient China from the Western Zhou period (1045 BCE) until the end of the Han dynasty (circa 220 CE). Full definition →