What tools did China and the West eat in different times and its development process?

Chopsticks, called chopsticks in ancient times, are a common dietary tool for East Asians to pick up food and transport it to their mouths. Chopsticks were invented about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, including wood, bamboo, metal, ivory and modern plastics.

Characteristics of chopsticks in different countries

China: Chopsticks are almost cubes, but the head and tail are slightly thinner. Because bamboo grows rapidly and widely, the utilization rate of bamboo chopsticks is very high. There are also giant long chopsticks specially used for cooking, which are called "vegetable chopsticks" in Japanese.

Japanese: Chopsticks are pointed, usually made of wood or painted. Their names follow the old China saying "chopsticks".

Korean Peninsula: Because of the war, in order to make chopsticks more durable, their chopsticks are all made of two flat pieces of metal.

Chopsticks and knives and forks reflect the scientific principle of hidden cultural differences between China and the West.

When it comes to chopsticks, everyone is familiar with them. The guy who eats every day, a pair in hand is convenient and practical. Besides soup, you can sweep the whole table. Many people in China who are used to chopsticks don't think much of foreigners' knives and forks. They need a long row of knives, forks and spoons just for a meal. It's really troublesome to touch a large piece of food with both hands. Every time I think of this place, I can't help feeling a lot of pride. Maybe you can't guess, but these two simple sticks are very learned.

The origin of chopsticks can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, and its name is related to the taboos of Jiangnan people.

Speaking of the history of serving human diet, these chopsticks can be regarded as the ancestors of knives and forks. In ancient times, our ancestors mainly grabbed food with their hands. Since "apes are separated from each other", people have found that food is more delicious when it is cooked. In the pre-Qin era, people generally did not eat with chopsticks. According to the records in the Book of Rites, it is speculated that people put rice into their mouths by hand at that time. Later, because it was impossible for people to barbecue food directly by hand, they needed tools such as bamboo sticks to place and turn the food, and they used the soup of cook the meat cuisine as a cooker, which they also used to eat. Over time, clever ancestors gradually learned to hold with bamboo sticks, which is the earliest prototype of chopsticks.

Chopsticks were called chopsticks in ancient times, and the origin of chopsticks can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. Chopsticks are mentioned in the Book of Rites, Xunzi and Historical Records. In Everything is done wrong, Zhou Wang, who is famous for his luxury, is mentioned in particular. He eats with "Zhu Xiang". Professor You of Zhejiang University believes that the differences between chopsticks and knives and forks, the food tools of the East and the West, are related to the environment, and chopsticks should originate from places with bamboo. Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "From the bamboo sound." Just verified such a conclusion.

But "Notes" said: "Those who have vegetables in the soup should use it, and those who have no vegetables should not use it." From the word formation, "Cong Mu" is considered by some scholars as wooden chopsticks. It can be recalled that there are many trees in the north and many bamboos in the south of China. Our ancestors used local materials, and bamboo and wood became the most primitive raw materials for chopsticks in China. Research shows that chopsticks were not widely used until after the Han Dynasty. Later, "Chopsticks" evolved into "Chopsticks", which was related to the folk customs of ancient Jiangnan water towns in China. Folk navigation does not say "live", and boatmen can't eat without chopsticks. It's all homophonic, just changed to "fast". Later, in order to distinguish it from the often said "fast", bamboo heads were added.

Knife and fork appeared because they adapted to the eating habits of Europeans, and it and chopsticks influenced the different life concepts of the East and the West.

Knife and fork appeared much later than chopsticks. According to Professor You's research, the original origin of knives and forks is related to the living habits of nomadic people in ancient Europe. They immediately live with knives and often cook and cut the meat to eat. Later, after moving towards settled life, animal husbandry dominated Europe, and bread and the like were all non-staple foods, which were directly taken by hand. The staple food is beef and mutton, which is cut with a knife and sent to import. After settling in the city, knives and forks enter the family kitchen, so you don't have to carry them with you. It is not difficult to see that knives and chopsticks, as the main tableware in the west today, have completely different identities. They can be used to slaughter, dissect and cut the meat of cattle and sheep, and can also be used as tableware when cooking and eating.

Around the15th century, in order to improve the posture of eating, Europeans used double sharp forks. It's unsightly to put food in your mouth with a knife, but it's more elegant to put meat in your mouth with a fork. Forks are strictly tableware, but the weakness of forks is that they can't be cut in front with a knife, so both are indispensable. It was not until the end of 17 that the British upper class began to use the three-pointed fork, and it was not until 18 century that the four-pointed fork appeared. So westerners have only used knives and forks for four or five hundred years.

Knife, fork and chopsticks not only bring about differences in eating habits, but also affect the concept of life of eastern and western people. Professor You believes that knives and forks will inevitably lead to the sharing system, and chopsticks will certainly cooperate with family members to sit around the table and eat together. The west divided itself into two from the beginning, which led to the idea and habit that westerners pay attention to independence and children will enter the world independently when they grow up. The dining system brought by chopsticks highlights the family unit where the old and the young sit together, thus giving orientals a relatively strong family concept.

Although we can't simply correspond the formation of different traditions with the differences of tableware, there is no doubt that they adapt to and contribute to this differentiation. Chopsticks are a symbol of cultural tradition. China people still use chopsticks when they go to Europe and America. Culture is deeply rooted, and foreigners learn to use chopsticks in China, and they still have to pick up knives and forks when they return to their own countries.

Chopsticks, knives and forks, who is more advanced? Opinions vary, but each has its own wisdom.