What is the origin and story of China chopsticks?

Jiang Ziya invented chopsticks under the guidance of the God Bird. The first pair of chopsticks was made of bamboo. According to folklore, when Jiang Ziya lived in seclusion, he knew fishing every day, doing nothing and living in poverty, which led his wife to complain every day. One day, when he came home from fishing, he saw his wife uncharacteristically greeting him warmly. He said, "Are you hungry? I have cooked the meat. Please eat quickly. " .

Jiang Ziya is really hungry, too. If he reaches for the meat, he will eat it. At this moment, a colorful bird suddenly flew out of the window and pecked him. He let out a cry of pain and the meat fell from his hand into the soil. Jiang Ziya didn't eat, so he blew the bird out. Then Jiang Ziya went to catch the meat, and the bird flew in and pecked his hand.

Jiang Ziya was a little skeptical: Why did this bird turn over again and again to stop me from eating meat? Can't I eat this meat? In order to test this idea, he went to catch meat for the third time, and the bird flew in and pecked him again. So Jiang Ziya understood that the bird really wouldn't let him eat meat, but why? So he kicked the bird out.

Jiang Ziya chased after a clump of green bamboo, and the bird stood on the bamboo and said, Jiang Ziya, Jiang Ziya, don't eat meat with your hands, the meat is at my feet. So Jiang Ziya suddenly understood that the bird was instructing him to eat meat with bamboo. So he broke two bamboos and went back to the house, holding the meat with bamboo.

I saw that as soon as the bamboo touched the meat, it immediately smoked, and the bamboo soon turned black. Jiang Ziya realized that his wife was trying to poison him. It turned out that Jiang Ziya's wife was afraid of poverty and hated Jiang Ziya, so she wanted to poison him. And Jiang Ziya, under the guidance of the divine bird, escaped this robbery.

Shen Zhu saved Jiang Ziya's life, so every time Jiang Ziya eats, it's better than eating with Shen Zhu. When the neighbors heard about it, they all followed Jiang Ziya's example and ate with bamboo. Over time, people have passed down the habit of eating with chopsticks.

Taboos for using chopsticks

People think chopsticks have magical power. According to the divinatory symbols in Zhouyi, chopsticks are a divinatory symbol, which is called Tiantai, because the top of chopsticks is square and the bottom is round. According to the theory that the sky is round, then chopsticks also include heaven and earth, with the square (ground) above and the circle (sky) below, so it is called the terrace.

The earth and the sky represent harmony and smoothness, and Antai is auspicious. If chopsticks are misplaced, it will destroy the divination of heaven and earth and have a negative impact on people. For example, it should be placed smoothly and cannot be crossed together; That's why you accidentally caught food with chopsticks, so you should change it immediately.