The origins of the chinoiserie style date back many centuries ago. Beautiful blue and white hand painted porcelain with detailed illustrative Chinese motifs (a hallmark of the chinoiserie style) can be traced all the way back to the Tang Dynasty in China. This ancient Chinese design tradition is the root of the "Chinoiserie" style, an adaptation that rose in popularly in Europe, centuries later.
What we know as chinoiserie today was a romanticised version of the Chinese and East Asian style, which was based on Chinese goods imported into Europe in 18th Century. The term 'Chinoiserie' actually derives from the French word for 'Chinese' and, like the word, the style was also a European style derived from Chinese and East Asian culture.