Why do people in China use chopsticks instead of knives and forks?

The ancestors of chopsticks were in China. At that time, it was called "Zhu" or "Jia". Because ancient China people could not grasp hot and cold food with their hands, they were forced to break some twigs or bamboo branches instead. Gradually develop the habit of eating with polished bamboo branches as chopsticks. The popularity of chopsticks has brought many benefits and fun to people's lives. Such as: Mongolian chopsticks dance. Chopsticks dance is a dance in which dancers hit shoulders, waist and legs with chopsticks. Cheerful rhythm, don't have a flavor. Before the Tang Dynasty, chopsticks also spread to Asian countries as China culture. And it has a wide influence. At present, there are about 654.38 billion people using chopsticks around the world. China people invented chopsticks as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. These two simple things skillfully apply the lever principle of physics and are highly praised by famous physicists. Chopsticks are an extension of human fingers. They are not afraid of scalding or freezing. They are really great!

China people have a soft spot for chopsticks, which can be described as "you can't leave this gentleman for a day". So, why did people in China invent this unique tableware, and it has been used ever since? On July 18, Wang, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a speech entitled "Historical Scenery on the Dining Table —— China Ancient Dietary Tradition" in the Capital Library, telling the emotional origin between China people and chopsticks.

"Chopsticks" on the dining table of Han people

Globally, human eating patterns can be divided into three categories. One is to grasp food directly by hand, the other is to use forks and spoons, and the other is to use chopsticks and spoons. It is Europe and America that use forks. The South Asian subcontinent and Africa use their hands, and some countries in East Asia, China, Korean Peninsula, Japanese archipelago, Viet Nam and Southeast Asia use chopsticks.

This area is deeply influenced by the ancient culture of China, and these areas are all over China. Using chopsticks will naturally say that your chopsticks are good, and people who use their hands will also say that their hands are good. God gave us hands. Why are you still using those instruments?

China has been using tableware for a long time, with spoons and chopsticks. The use history of spoons is about 8000 years, and the use history of forks is 4000 years. The upper limit of using chopsticks is still uncertain.

Why do we use chopsticks? Compared with western food, the staple foods we eat are porridge and rice, which are very hot and difficult to grasp directly with our hands. Especially vegetables, mixed with meat and even rice, are stewed into thin soup, which is soup. It is not appropriate to use your hands at this time. What shall we do? It's not easy to use a spoon. Let's use chopsticks. Chopsticks are the best way to eat thick things in this soup, especially to get some meat and vegetables.

The emergence and invention of chopsticks should be a natural thing. So are spoons and chopsticks. I think it should be like this: two small bamboo sticks in the south and two tree sticks in the north, or two suitable animal bones, animal bones will do.

Traditionally, our staple foods are rice in the south and millet in the north. The non-staple food is soup. This cooking tradition determines the way we eat and the utensils we use. Many tableware were found in the north and south.

All kinds of ancient spoons

Prehistoric spoons are not in the shape of spoons, but pieces of bones, a wide bone, which can eat rice.

In ancient times, the division of labor between spoons and chopsticks was very clear. Spoons are used for eating, and chopsticks are used for eating vegetables in soup. The rules are very clear. So the shape of the spoon was uncertain at first.

Some spoons have a hole at the top, and a rope is tied in the hole. What is the rope for? If you put it in a bowl, you don't have to tie a rope.

These spoons were all found at the waist of the victims of the ancient tomb. We speculate that this thing is tied to the belt and carried around, which is an indispensable equipment. Nowadays, ethnic minorities, such as Tibetans, carry knives when they go out. Knives are cutlery for cutting meat.

Early spoons, because metallurgy has not been invented, were mainly made of animal bones, or a stick was tied with clam shells. In the bronze age, bronze spoons appeared. The round-headed spoon has been used since the Spring and Autumn Period. Of course, the shape of our spoon now is the same as that of western food, which is not our traditional style.

And forks. We found several prehistoric forks in Qinghai, Gansu, which have a history of 4000 years and are made of bones. They are exquisite. It is relatively large, more than 20 centimeters long.

At that time, forks, spoons and knives were all available. In the western region, grazing and animal husbandry are the main economic forms, so he eats more meat, so he needs it. Forks were still used in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. We once found a bundle of 565,438+0 forks in a tomb of the Warring States in Luoyang. This is not for family use, but for the party.

After the Warring States period, forks were found less and probably eliminated. We no longer use them.

The name of the fork is in ancient times, and I verified it myself. Maybe it's called Bi. Bi is a net, a net with a long handle, which can catch animals. Why is the fork also called Bi? I think this bi is also the name of a constellation. Our name is Twenty-eight Nights. Beidou is also the name of a spoon, taking the name of a star. Bi probably took the screen name and constellation name I said, and then turned around and took the name of this tableware.

The connection of Bi constellation is the connection of several points. We know the constellation of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. The connection of Bi constellation is forked, so it is called Bi.

Back to chopsticks, I quote: "You can't live without this gentleman for a day". People can't live without it for a day. Guess what this is? It's chopsticks

Chopsticks are the names that existed in the Ming Dynasty, and they were called chopsticks before the Ming Dynasty. We read Lu Rong's Miscellaneous Notes on Gardens in Ming Dynasty. It is said that people in Jiangnan and Suzhou had some taboo customs in folk dialogue at that time. If you are sailing, you should avoid saying "stop". In other words, when we are on the boat and want to eat, you can't say it's unlucky to bring chopsticks. You must walk fast. When you say baa, you mean stop.

You should say "chopsticks" in reverse and take chopsticks. In this way, because of the voyage of the Sioux, it brought a new name to our commonly used tableware-chopsticks.

Chopsticks in Yin Ruins are made of copper. After the Han Dynasty, it was mainly round chopsticks and bamboo chopsticks. Both ends are the same, and there is no distinction between the top and the bottom. We don't use it much now. The chopsticks used in our family are round at the end. I call them feet. The square one above, I call it the head, is the head.

This is ancient times, including the most standard chopsticks now. Since the appearance of disposable chopsticks, chopsticks have changed the traditional image and come in a wide variety. Square-headed chopsticks, the more certain evidence is that the Ming Dynasty appeared, and the chopsticks before the Ming Dynasty were not finalized. There is a bridge across the lake in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. Found several small sticks, a pair of sticks with similar size and shape, about 10 cm long. The digger thinks it should be chopsticks, because there are some symbols engraved on one end, which may be special symbols. This symbol is a bit like the numerical symbol used in divination later. Chopsticks can be used for divination in the early and Han dynasties, so they are a bargaining chip.

Some images of the Han Dynasty clearly show chopsticks on the dining table. In the murals of the Tang Dynasty, there were spoons and chopsticks on the tables and chairs, so it can be seen that there should be spoons and chopsticks in more formal banquet occasions. There are chopsticks and spoons on Han Xizhai's Night Banquet. Needless to say, it was very common in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Chopsticks are also found in the illustrations of a dream of red mansions painted by people in the Qing Dynasty.

In particular, we should remind everyone that the way chopsticks are placed also has its own characteristics. It was released directly during the Han and Jin Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, one pair, two pairs, three pairs and four pairs were placed horizontally on the table, and so were spoons. This version spread to Korea and Japan.

Our chopsticks have been upright since the Song Dynasty. On the Qingming Festival, the chopsticks on the dining table are placed vertically.

It can be seen that the Han and Jin dynasties were straightforward, and the Tang Dynasty came horizontally, and the Song Dynasty came straight again. What is the process of this change, or why, we still can't understand it well, just see this change.

I'm talking about the details of history and the customs at the dinner table. You can see my tradition from these details. You can see that your present life is actually guided by tradition.

Finally, I quote an article from frankfurter allgemeine zeitung in 2008 entitled "The spoon in the kitchen is the real scepter of civilization". It tells a story first. Yi Yin of Shang Dynasty helped Tang Wang to destroy the summer. He was an abandoned baby at first, adopted and raised by a chef, and learned a good dish. The king was very jealous and invited him to be his senior adviser. This Yi Yin met the King of Tang. He said that there are many delicious foods all over the country. How can we get these things? Then he talked about how to cook, telling the truth of governing the country exactly the same as the truth of cooking. This is what Laozi said later: governing a big country can be cooked fresh. The author of the article sighed with emotion that the rich and colorful history of food culture is amazing, the spoon in the kitchen is the real scepter of civilization, and delicacy is the best weapon to eliminate barbarism. Good people eat well, but bad people eat badly. If you want to make the world a better place, you should start with the kitchen. It is suggested that the Security Council be changed into a chef's technical school.

We have many chefs as big officials, in history. Chefs are highly respected. After the defeat, an officer can pretend to be a chef in order to survive, otherwise his life will be hard to protect. This conclusion means that our study of history is not a trivial matter, not just a trivial matter of health and culture, but a political event related to the destiny of mankind, which has been sublimated into a major event in this respect and even a major event related to international political life.