Chinese blue

noun

A artificial blue pigment made from barium copper tetrasilicate (“BaO·CuO·(SiO₂)₄”), used in ancient China from the Western Zhou period (1045 BCE) until the end of the Han dynasty (circa 220 CE).

Similar
Han blue
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounChinese blue (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA artificial blue pigment made from barium copper tetrasilicate (“BaO·CuO·(SiO₂)₄”), used in ancient China from the Western Zhou period (1045 BCE) until the end of the Han dynasty (circa 220 CE).

    Synonyms: Han blue

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA artificial blue pigment made from barium copper tetrasilicate (“BaO·CuO·(SiO₂)₄”), used in ancient China from the Western Zhou period (1045 BCE) until the end of the Han dynasty (circa 220 CE).

Similar
Han blue
Also see
han blue

Origin

From Chinese + blue. From being an artificial blue pigment invented by the ancient Chinese.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Chinese blue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20blue

MLA

“Chinese blue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20blue. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chinese blue,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20blue.

Source: Chinese blue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.