In 263 Wei conquered Shu and two years later Sima Yan forced the Wei emperor to abdicate and he established the Jin Dynasty (Western Jin) with the capitol remaining in Luoyang. In 280 Jin conquered Wu, the last of the Three Kingdoms reuniting the country. The Western Jin allowed peasants to own land, created a system of "nine official grades" and a noble class of princes.

During this extended period painted gray war figures remained popular in northern China. Nomadic figures from the north also began to emerge, depicting non-Chinese nomads, camels, and beasts with human faces. Green ware broke free from the Han style of replicating bronzes. New shapes included the hun-p'ing, the bear lamp, the tsun jar with mythical beast décor, lion or goat shaped candle holders, the chicken's head ewer, the hu-tzu urine pot, and the kuan jar with lotus décor. Also, the hun-p'ing or spirit jar emerges in this period. This period also saw black glaze at the Te-ching kilns in Chekiang in southern China. Primitive green ware with a black-brown glaze is seen from T'un-his in Anhwei, but this is rare. Archeological evidence shows that contemporary potters understood the importance of iron for determining glaze color.

Buddhist-inspired decorative motifs exerted considerable influence throughout the Eastern Jin (Chin) dynasty. Buddhism pervaded every level of society, as seen in the lotus motive as a dominant feature in both shaping and ornamentation.

Ceramic production at the time centered principally in three great systems, the Yueh ware family of Kiangsu and Chekiang region, the hungchow ware family of Kiangsi, Hunan, Hupeh, and Szechwan, and the greenishh-brown glaze wares of Fukien and Kwangtung. The Yueh ware produced in this period is highly prized by collectors.