Meissen porcelain further precaution, very few workers knew the special secret ("arcanum") of how to make porcelain, and then perhaps only part of the process. Thus, for a few years, Meissen retained its monopoly on the production of hard-paste porcelain in Europe. By 1717, however, a competing production was set up at Vienna, as Samuel Stöltzel sold the secret recipe, which involved the use of kaolin, also known as china clay. By 1760 about thirty porcelain manufacturers were operating in Europe, most of them, however, producing frit based soft-paste porcelain. In order to identify the original Meissen products, Meissen developed markings that
Chinese ceramics terms used to classify Chinese porcelain by the dominant element in its colour palette. Famille verte (康熙五彩, "Kangxi wucai", also 素三彩, "Susancai"), adopted in the Kangxi period (1662–1722), uses green and iron red with other overglaze colours. It developed from the "Wucai" (五彩, "Five colours") style. Famille jaune is a variation using famille verte enamels on a yellow ground. Famille noire (Chinese: 黑地素三彩, "Modi susancai") uses a black ground (although some clobbered wares had the black added in the 19th century). Famille rose (known in Chinese as "Fencai" (粉彩) or "Ruancai" (軟彩, simplified 软彩), meaning 'soft colours', and later as