Judging from China's natural resources, there are many trees in the north and many bamboos in the south. Chopsticks are really made in cities. "Jade Old Man" said that "Ji Zi used to be afraid of elephant chopsticks", and chopsticks made of ivory were a bit cruel.
The story of ivory chopsticks says that Zhou Wang got a pair of ivory chopsticks, and Saint Ji Zi sighed. He got an ivory chopstick, which was definitely not used to match pottery utensils, but used by gold and jade as dishes. Jade naturally doesn't contain wild vegetables and things like that. It's a must for delicacies ... followed by wine ponds and meat forests, which are unique to China.
"Everything in the Forest" mentioned that "a saint can sprout from the micro-knowledge, know the end from the end, know the horror from the image, and know the lack from the world". These are also incomprehensible to a pair of chopsticks.
It's none of our business to make ivory chopsticks in Zhou Wang, but it can be seen from this that exquisite chopsticks appeared in Shang Dynasty. From this point of view, the tradition of eating with chopsticks in China has a history of at least 3,000 years.
In modern restaurants, there are many exquisite painted chopsticks. This kind of chopsticks has a smooth surface, and it is difficult to hold food because the chopstick head is round. Why not make it square? Chopsticks are cylindrical and have their cultural connotations. "Chopsticks have round heads, which are for divination and heaven", and the so-called "food is the sky for the people" comes from this.
China people have attached importance to etiquette since ancient times, and food etiquette is a part of it. Because chopsticks are the most important "output equipment" on the dining table, they occupy an important position in the etiquette link. When eating, the method of holding chopsticks and the direction of placing them belong to the etiquette category, from which we can see a person's upbringing. When it comes to etiquette, it is natural to have something to do with ghosts and gods.
China people have a lot of etiquette when eating, such as taboo chopsticks "three long and two short" placed, but also taboo chopsticks inserted in a bowl shaped like incense, which is a question people will ask on the spot; However, such things as "silence, knocking on cups and digging graves" belong to the category of private jokes.
This part of chopsticks that people hold is square, on the one hand, to prevent "hand slip", on the other hand, it is related to our ancestors' culture of advocating harmony between heaven and earth, and it is closer to China's tradition of "using Huang Lao internally and showing Confucianism externally". Chopsticks, as one of the symbols of "courtesy" and "benevolence", also play a role in the wedding of the couple. Often, the elders will give chopsticks to the new couple, indicating that they are in pairs, which also implies the desire to have a baby early.
As for the types of chopsticks, they can be divided into five categories in China, namely, bamboo chopsticks, metal chopsticks, dental chopsticks, jade chopsticks, chemical chopsticks and so on. Not to mention bamboo chopsticks, which are the most common and primitive chopsticks; The earliest metal chopsticks in China were made of bronze. Since then, iron chopsticks and copper chopsticks have naturally appeared, and rich people can get gold chopsticks and silver chopsticks. Jade chopsticks are extremely precious; Animal bone chopsticks also belong to a more precious category; Plastic chopsticks are similar to "stepmother's" and their value cannot be surpassed.