Why are chopsticks so different in China, Japan and Korea?

I'm sure everyone who has just gone to a Western country and is eating out has encountered ? awkward eating? s moment. The first time I saw this, I had to go back to the old days when I was a kid, and I had to go back to the old days when I was a kid, and I had to go back to the old days when I was a kid. This time, I just want to look up to the sky and say: God, give me a pair of chopsticks!

When it comes to East Asian chopstick culture, it's only natural to mention our Asian? Chopsticks? The three main groups: China, Japan and South Korea.

First of all, it should be strictly stated that chopsticks were undoubtedly invented by the Chinese. After being invented by our ancestors on the East Asian continent, chopsticks gradually spread to neighboring regions. Eventually, chopsticks formed a sphere of influence centered on China, including the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Southeast Asia. Although both use chopsticks, there are considerable differences between the chopsticks of China, Japan and South Korea, which can be described as, one chopstick for each table.

An eating utensil of Chinese origin, chopsticks have taken different paths in terms of their shapes, despite their widespread use between Korea and Japan. In terms of length, Chinese chopsticks are generally the longest, followed by Korean and Japanese. The Japanese, who are known to share their meals and are not in the habit of giving food to others, don't have to pick up dishes from a long distance on the Baxian table as the Chinese do. Next time you go to the Asian super, you can identify which country you buy chopsticks ~

one, China

China's chopsticks history can be traced back to more than 4,000 years ago! The history of chopsticks dates back more than 4,000 years. Our Han Chinese ancestors took branches from the forest in order to fish for cooked food in clay pots, trying to fish and clip at the same time, and in the process gradually created the prototype of today's chopsticks. (I can't help but lament the creativity of the eaters.)

Afterward, according to the ancient book "Han Fei Zi? The oldest of the oldest of the old. In the past, King Zhou used elephant chopsticks, and Min Zi was horrified? A cup of rhinoceros and jade? The food must be ",? The food must be "banner elephant and leopard's tire", and the clothes must be "banner elephant and leopard's tire". and the clothes must be? The clothes must be "nine weights of brocade", and the housing must be "nine weights of brocade". and housing. A high platform and a large room. In this way, we can Seeing the microcosm, we know the history. In the Yin Shang period, China had precious chopsticks made of ivory.

But ivory chopsticks are not often found on the Chinese table today. In China, more people still use bamboo and wooden chopsticks. Solid large-leafed Ruo bamboo, holly wood, ebony, chicken-fin wood, and sour branches are all common materials used for chopsticks nowadays. The shape and usage of chopsticks are also quite symbolic and elaborate. The chopsticks used in China are long and straight, with blunt ends, and most of them show the shape of a round chopstick head and a square chopstick tail, symbolizing the circle of heaven and earth, and the end of the chopsticks? Shan Tou? It symbolizes the sky is round and the earth is square, and the "shantou" at the end of the chopsticks symbolizes the day you reach the top of the mountain. Compared with chopsticks from other countries, Chinese chopsticks are slightly longer, which is more in line with the food culture of eating at a large Chinese table.

Chopsticks actually play an important role in our cultural rituals. Legend has it that sticking chopsticks straight into the rice will bring the fire to heaven, so? Inserting chopsticks to offer sacrifices to the heavens? To honor the gods with chopsticks? Offering rice to the ancestors? All of these rituals are centered on chopsticks.

At the same time, there are many taboos against using chopsticks. For example, customs passed down from our ancestors teach us not to hold chopsticks in our mouths, not to point chopsticks at others, not to stick chopsticks in rice, not to knock chopsticks against a bowl, and folklore has a ? It is said that if you knock chopsticks on the bowl, you will be begging for food for the rest of your life. The folk saying "knocking chopsticks on a bowl means begging for food for the rest of one's life" implies poverty. The company's website is a great place to find out more about the company's services, and to learn more about the company.

Gradually, chopsticks have become a symbol of Chinese civilization from a necessary daily eating tool, closely linked to the voluminous Chinese folk culture. It can be said that the Chinese people's daily life is simply inseparable from chopsticks.

I remember when U.S. President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited China for the first time, they demonstrated the action of using chopsticks to hold the food when they made wine with the President and Premier. Although raw, but its heart and sincerity won a burst of applause, both sides are happy, but also? A chopstick to end enmity? The agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States has been implemented. Nowadays, many foreign tourists come to China to experience our traditional culture, also from the first chopsticks. Eating with chopsticks is a good way to enjoy your meal and to make your hosts happy. Even in Germany, you will find that many ordinary foreigners use chopsticks!

Second, Japan

Similar to China, Japan has its own unique chopstick culture. Legend has it that during the Qin and Han Dynasties, envoys traveled eastward, spreading Chinese civilization to its eastern neighbors, and chopstick culture was also brought over. However, due to differences in eating habits and localization, the way chopsticks are used in Japan has gradually become different from that in China.

In Japan nowadays, people tend to use fast-food chopsticks when eating in restaurants. This is because the Japanese believe that disposable fast-food chopsticks are more convenient and hygienic, and this is also a historical tradition in Japan, where cutting chopsticks have been used since the Edo period.

Priests at shrines often use disposable chopsticks in some ceremonies to honor the gods, and the act of breaking open disposable chopsticks has been given a ? a cultural connotation.

But the Japanese are so environmentally conscious that most of the wood used in chopsticks is not sourced locally, but imported from abroad. In some restaurants, there are now discounts if you bring your own chopsticks (they're called マイ箸), which encourages people to live in an environmentally friendly way.

Japanese chopsticks are also different from Chinese chopsticks in shape. Most chopsticks used for eating at home are made of wood with slightly shorter, thicker ends. Japanese people mostly eat one person per meal. The Japanese mostly eat one person's meal, so the chopsticks do not need to be too long. The chopsticks do not need to be too long, the body of the chopsticks from thick to thin, to the head of the chopsticks will become pointed. This is because, in the past, Japanese cuisine was often based on sea fish, and the pointed chopsticks were actually used to make it easier to remove the meat from the fish bones.

And Japanese chopstick culture has no fewer taboos than China's. For example, you can't use chopsticks in a casual manner. For example, you can't use chopsticks to casually rummage around for your favorite food, you can't pass food around with chopsticks, you can't stick chopsticks in a bowl, you can't hold chopsticks like a fist, and so on.

The way you use chopsticks often reflects the way you are taught. So when you're having a meal with Japanese friends, you should pay attention to how you use your chopsticks.

Three, Korea

Metal flathead chopsticks, Korea's chopstick culture has a long history, in the Korean Peninsula, in the past, the king, ministers and the rich used gold and silver chopsticks, on the contrary, the ordinary people can only use iron chopsticks. In modern times, beautiful stainless steel chopsticks have become the norm. Maybe it's because of the Korean love of barbecue (or was it?). I'm a glutton for punishment. ), most Koreans use metal cutlery.

Korea is a country that uses mostly metal utensils.

The reason why Koreans have abandoned bamboo and wood is said to be because of the peninsular cuisine, which is known for its red color. red? The reason for the abandonment of wooden chopsticks and bamboo chopsticks is that the head of the chopsticks will be stained with a reddish color when used for a long period of time, and the chopsticks will be discarded. Korea's lack of real estate means that wooden and bamboo chopsticks wear out easily, while steel chopsticks are easy to rinse and save water.

Additionally, the chopsticks used in Korea are not the cylindrical ones of China or the thicker ones of Japan, but rather the flat rectangular ones, which make it easy to lose the chopsticks from your hand when you first start using them. Flat chopsticks are actually no easier to hold food than round ones. Early Koreans passed them down to exercise national coordination brain development and hand strength. So the chopsticks are mostly flat, metal, medium-length, and in some cases semi-circular, square, and oval shapes.

Eating in Korea and China and Japan is different, everyone at the table from not pick up the bowl to eat, but to chopsticks handful of rice in the bowl to eat, because the Koreans think? The Korean people believe that holding the bowl? It's not a good idea to have a bowl of rice. to ask for rice? It means "to ask for food". However, if you go to a Korean friend's house for dinner, there is no "special chopsticks for each person". Chopsticks for everyone? There is no restriction on the number of chopsticks for each person. Just like in China, family members are humble enough to share their food with each other, and the meal is guaranteed to be a lively and enthusiastic one.

Besides China, Japan and South Korea, chopsticks are also used in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, most of which have been influenced by Confucianism or Chinese culture, except that most of these countries have a combination of chopsticks and spoons.

No matter what, chopsticks are an important part of food culture, and you can find so many hidden secrets and cultural differences in a pair of chopsticks.