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Where did chopsticks come from?

Talk about Chopsticks in Ancient and Modern Times

Author: Anhui Provincial Museum Lu Maocun

In the daily life of our people, chopsticks are inseparable every day. It has a very ancient origin and has an indissoluble bond with the material and spiritual life of the people. It is said that our country is the first country in the world to invent and use chopsticks. As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, ancient Chinese people began to use chopsticks. The earliest physical objects unearthed so far are the copper chopsticks M1005 from Houjiazhuang, Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province and the bone chopsticks from the Xianglushi site in Hunan Province. The earliest documented record can be found in "Han Feizi Yu Lao": "In the past, Zhou was an elephant chopstick and the Jizi was terrible." According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records? Song Weizi Family", there is a record that "Zhou began to be an elephant chopstick". In "Historical Records? Chronology of the Twelve Princes": "There is Zhou who is like a chopstick, and the chopstick is a sigh (sigh, lament)". It is said that Jizi believed that King Zhou used ivory chopsticks to eat bear paws, which was extremely luxurious and was a sign of the destruction of the country. Echoing the cultural relics of the Yin Ruins, it shows that chopsticks already existed in the Shang Dynasty. Since there were copper chopsticks, elephant chopsticks and bone chopsticks in the Shang Dynasty, chopsticks made of bamboo and wood must have been earlier than the Shang Dynasty. Scholars all believe that my country already used chopsticks made of bamboo and wood in the Neolithic Age. In fact, the elephant chopsticks used by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty were not the first pair of chopsticks in China. The birth of chopsticks should be several years earlier than King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. "Notes" Zheng Xuan notes: "Cover the living things with soil and then eat them with cannons." That is, the millet is wrapped in leaves, and the paste is placed in the fire to roast. The simpler method is to put the grains in the ashes of the fire and stir them with branches from time to time to make them evenly heated before eating. The ancestors were probably inspired by this process. Over time, the most primitive chopsticks appeared in the hands of the ancestors.

So how did "箸" evolve into salty "chopsticks"? It's a long story. Generally, humans mainly eat with their fingers, forks and chopsticks. But in ancient times, our ancestors "rubbed hair and drank blood" and naturally ate with their hands. Since "man and ape said goodbye", people have discovered that cooking food is more delicious. In the pre-Qin era, people generally did not use chopsticks when eating. "Notes? Qu Lishang": "Don't knead the rice" (zhi means to squeeze the broken things into a ball.) It can be seen that the rice was put into the mouth by hand. When the ancestors were grilling food, it was impossible to operate it directly with their hands. They had to use wooden sticks, branches, bamboo branches, and bamboo slices to place and turn the food. In order to avoid burning their fingers when eating, the smart ancestors also used them to eat instead of their fingers. When cooking meat and vegetable soup in a cooking utensil, you should also use them to pick it up. Gradually learn to use two wooden sticks or bamboo strips to pick it up. Use them to stir when cooking porridge to prevent rice grains from sticking to the bottom of the pottery and burning. They can also be used to push food when eating porridge. This is the earliest prototype of chopsticks. It can be said that the emergence of chopsticks is closely related to the method of cooking food in pottery. Therefore, it has become the most distinctive eating tool for East Asian farming people who mainly eat grains. The emergence of chopsticks is a great progress in the history of Chinese civilization. According to research, chopsticks have a history of at least three thousand years in China.

In ancient times, chopsticks were called chopsticks. Duan Yucai's "Shuowen Jie Zi Annotation" said: " Chopsticks are also rice [risk + branch]. ... If [risk + branch] tilts the mind, the chopsticks will tilt. Use it." In addition, chopsticks are also called "梜". "First Aid Chapter" says: " Chopsticks, also known as 梜, are used to hold food." "Notes? Qu Lishang" says: "Do not use chopsticks to eat millet." That is, you should not use chopsticks to eat porridge, but a dagger. He also said: "If there are vegetables in the soup, use the chopsticks; if there are no vegetables in the soup, don't use the chopsticks." The chopsticks are wooden chopsticks. Jie Jice, "Guangya Shiqi": "The pod is called chopsticks." It shows that chopsticks were used to pick up vegetables in soup in ancient times. Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty noted: "The chopsticks are like chopsticks. People today may use chopsticks as a folder." "Shuowen Jiezi" written by Xu Shen of the Han Dynasty said: "The chopsticks come from the sound of bamboo." And the chopsticks come from wood. There are many trees in the north and bamboo in the south. Our ancestors used local materials, so it is possible that bamboo became the most primitive raw material for chopsticks in my country. It was not until the Han Dynasty that chopsticks were commonly used. Later, "箸" evolved into "chopsticks", which is related to the folk custom of the water towns in the Jiangnan region of ancient my country. Lu Rong of the Ming Dynasty said in "Shu Yuan Miscellaneous Notes": "It is a folk taboo... When boating, it is taboo to stay, and chopsticks have the same pronunciation as chopsticks, so chopsticks are called chopsticks." From the pronunciation of the word, it is called "chopsticks", which means to hope for the boat. Taboo words meaning "fast" became auspicious words. From then on, "箸" was renamed "chopsticks", but there are still a few areas where it is still called "箸". The Ming Dynasty's "Tui Peng Huan Yu" records: "The world mistakenly calls bad things beautiful and calls them chopsticks. It has been passed down for a long time, and even among scholars and officials, they also call chopsticks chopsticks." People forget the beginning. "People are most afraid of "staying" and "worming" when sailing, so they went against the grain and changed the call of chopsticks to chopsticks (quick). In Japan, there is no such taboo. Since it was introduced in the Tang Dynasty, it is still called "箸". In ancient times, chopsticks were also called "jin" and "梜" because they were not as catchy and auspicious as the word "chopsticks". The two words "jin" and "梜" have long been eliminated. The long history of chopsticks is evidenced by archaeological evidence. In 1961, archaeologists excavated a rare copper coffin tomb in Dabona, Xiangyun County, Yunnan Province. Three cylindrical copper chopsticks were unearthed from it. Radiocarbon determination showed that they were relics from the mid-Eastern Zhou Dynasty around 500 BC. In August 1977, a batch of Eastern Zhou bronzes were unearthed in Huijiachong, Hongqi Brigade, Lishan Commune, about 7.5 kilometers northeast of Guichi County, Anhui Province. The bronze was buried in a pit. A pair of copper chopsticks, utensils used in daily life, were unearthed inside. The chopsticks are slender and rectangular, with a remaining length of 20.3 cm and a width of 4 mm. It seems that bronze was not only made into cooking utensils and sacrificial utensils such as tripods, kei, and statues, but also into small tableware such as chopsticks.

In May 1978, archaeologists excavated the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in the early Warring States period at Leigudun, about three kilometers northwest of Suizhou City, Hubei Province. The unearthed cultural relics included food boxes and wine boxes. In addition to copper tripods, copper basins, copper pots, copper spoons, etc., there is also a piece of bamboo in the food box; in addition to 161 pieces of ear cups, round and square wooden boxes, large spoons, etc., there are also two pieces of bamboo in the wine box. . Bamboo ce is the modern bamboo chopsticks. The ancient pre-Qin book "Guanzi" calls chopsticks "ce". Zhang Yi, a native of the Wei Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms, wrote in "Guangya Shiqi": "It is called chopsticks." After research, the food box and wine box were picnic utensils used by the tomb owner during his lifetime. It seems that our country had well-designed travel cutlery boxes 2,400 years ago, and chopsticks have become indispensable tableware in life. "Book of Han·Biography of Wang Mang" has a record of "eating with iron chopsticks". Chen Zangqi, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, believed that sweat on copperware is poisonous and can cause malignant sores and internal gangrene. Facts have proved that the oxidation of copper will produce a copper smell, and the oxidation of iron will cause rust, making it difficult to eat. Therefore, iron chopsticks and copper chopsticks were gradually replaced by lacquerware. Among the funerary objects unearthed from the Mawangdui tombs in Changsha, Hunan are a pair of scarlet lacquer chopsticks. There is a wooden tablet on the tomb indicating the burial date, which reads "Yiji system in February of the twelfth year." It has been determined to be the twelfth year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. This shows that there were lacquered bamboo chopsticks at least before 168 BC.

In Europe, until the fifteenth century, civilians in many countries still used their hands to eat food, and only nobles had access to metal knives, forks, spoons and other tableware. During the feudal dynasty, many princes and nobles used silver chopsticks, while gold chopsticks were exclusive to the royal family. Therefore, silver chopsticks became popular on the dining tables of princes and nobles. Gold tableware and utensils were always monopolized by the royal palace. The Northern Wei Dynasty had stipulated that from the princes down to the common people, "people with skillful gold and silver craftsmanship" were not allowed to be raised privately. It was illegal to make gold and silver utensils privately. The main reason why silver chopsticks are so popular is that they can prevent poisons. It is said that when silver encounters sulfur-containing poisons, it will produce a chemical reaction, turning the surface black, so that it can be judged whether the food is poisonous. At that time, the rich gentry and high-ranking officials were involved in corruption and bribery, causing too many unjust cases. They were afraid of poisoning, so they asked for help. On silver chopsticks. In fact, the theory that silver chopsticks are anti-virus is not scientific. From these historical records, it can be seen that ancient chopsticks had many names: Ying, Tice, Kun, Jia, Jin. In the Wei Dynasty, they were also called Xiao or Ying. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they were named after the Chinese character "箸".

At the same time. It can be seen that chopsticks in the Han Dynasty were not only quite popular, but also developed into many varieties. "Yunxian Miscellaneous Notes" records: "When waiting for Fan, there is a lacquered flower plate, a bucket of chopsticks, and a fish tail spoon." Tang Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Zazu" records: Cui Yuanhui's family in Boling has silver spoons and chopsticks. When it comes to chopsticks, experts and scholars from various countries are very enthusiastic about discussing it. Some Western scholars believe that because Chinese food is exquisite and delicate, chopsticks were invented to adapt to this situation. But some people hold the opposite view and believe that it is precisely because of the sophistication of chopsticks that Chinese food has developed so beautifully. The benevolent sees benevolence and the wise see wisdom. It is naturally difficult to reach a conclusion on this kind of "which came first, the chicken or the egg" question. But one thing is for sure, Chinese food is exquisite, Chinese chopsticks are delicate, and the combination of the two is perfect. The invention and use of chopsticks by the Chinese is a scientific invention worthy of pride and respect in the history of human civilization. Eating with chopsticks for a long time can make people ingenious, smart and quick-thinking. A Japanese scholar once proposed a research result on chopsticks from a physiological point of view. He believed that when eating with chopsticks, it affects more than 30 joints and more than 50 muscles of the human body, thereby stimulating the inner activities of the nervous system, which greatly helps People are flexible in movement and quick in thinking. It can be seen that the use of chopsticks by Chinese people is beneficial to health. The famous American historian Lynn Jr. White published an academic paper titled "Fingers, Chopsticks, and Forks—A Study of Human Eating Skills" in 1983, which attracted great attention from the academic community. He asserted in the paper: "Humans choose to eat with chopsticks is indeed the best way." This greatly increased the value of chopsticks and was highly praised.

The reason why a small piece of tableware has such great charm is that it is a symbol of civilization and progress. Many experts and scholars have scientifically demonstrated this. The person who really made an incisive judgment on chopsticks was Cai Yuanpei, my country’s “academic dean”. In February 1924, the board of directors of the Sino-French University held a meeting in Lyon, France. The Chinese chairman invited the French chairman, Professor Orle from the University of Paris, to eat Chinese dishes. When Ou Le saw that the banquet was served with Chinese chopsticks and spoons, he said to Cai: "You Chinese use chopsticks instead of knives and forks, isn't it convenient?" Cai Yuanpei replied with a smile: "As early as more than three thousand years ago, our Our ancestors also used knives and forks. However, we Chinese are a peace-loving nation. We always feel that knives are weapons for killing people. It is too uncivilized to use them for eating. Therefore, since the Shang Dynasty, we have switched to using daggers to cut meat and chopsticks. Later, cooking improved and chopsticks could be used to pick up meat, so the 'dagger' was no longer used at the table." Cai Yuanpei talked about the evolution history of chopsticks and its beautiful symbol, so that foreigners can learn more about China and chopsticks. Nowadays, chopsticks have entered the ever-changing modern society, but what is their functional value? The famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Lee Tsung-dao also had a very insightful discussion in an interview with a Japanese reporter. : "The Chinese nation is an excellent nation. The Chinese have been using chopsticks as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Such two simple things make superb use of the lever principle in physics. Chopsticks are extensions of human fingers, and fingers can It can do almost anything, and it is not afraid of high temperatures and cold. It is really clever.

How can the knives and forks that Westerners learned to use only in the 16th and 17th centuries compare with chopsticks? It turns out that when people use chopsticks when eating, they can use them to clamp, pick, pick, cut, and divide instead of fingers. full set of features. According to scientific measurements, when people use chopsticks, the five fingers can cooperate well and drive the activities of dozens of joints and muscles in the wrist, palm, arm and shoulder, and are connected with the brain nerves. Give your cerebral cortex a beneficial exercise. It can be seen that Dr. Li Zhengdao's argument for using chopsticks contains many scientific truths. Therefore, many foreigners traveling to China regard learning to use chopsticks as one of their greatest pleasures during travel.

Chinese chopsticks are not only a kind of tableware, but also a cultural artifact that has left many records in history. During the conflict between Chu and Han, a drunkard in Gaoyang despised Li Shiqi and offered him "Strong Han and Weak Chu" to Liu Bang. When the counselor Zhang Liang learned about it, he picked up the chopsticks that Liu Bang had just put down, used chopsticks as a picture on the dining table, and told Li Shiqi He made mistakes and offered his own strategic plan to cut Chu and prosper Han. This is the story of "The minister asked me to borrow the chopsticks in front of him to raise money" recorded in the "Book of Han·Zhang Liang". This is where the idiom "borrowing chopsticks to raise funds" comes from. Literati and poets in the past dynasties have written many poems about chopsticks. The poet Li Bai said in "The Journey Is Difficult" that "you can't eat without stopping your cup and throwing chopsticks". That was when he left Beijing in desperation in the third year of Tianbao (744 AD) because he was slandered by the powerful and lost his post of "Serving the Hanlin". A true portrayal of the melancholy mood of not being able to eat anything. Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, said in "Beautiful People's Journey": "The rhinoceros tendons have been tired of eating for a long time, and the luan knife has cut through the air." The poem refers to the chopsticks made of rhinoceros horns. Zhu Shuzhen's "Yong of Chopsticks" said: "Two ladies are small, and they can hold their waists and open their feet. If you want to taste good, you have to stick out your tongue." The first two sentences personify chopsticks, and the image is vivid and interesting, and the last two sentences This sentence seems to express the depressed and helpless mood of this Song Dynasty female poet. Cheng Lianggui, a poet of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Ode to Bamboo Chops": "Be diligent with bamboo chopsticks, and you will taste the sweet and bitter first. The taste is good to others, but you are busy coming and going in your spare time." Using chopsticks as a metaphor for people also has a special meaning. According to legend, when Liu Bowen first met Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Taizu Fang Shi asked him to compose a poem with chopsticks as the theme to observe his ambition. When Liu saw that the chopsticks used by Taizu were made of Xiangfei bamboo, he recited: "A pair of Xiangjiang jade are side by side, and the two concubines have tears stained them." Seeing the disdain on Taizu's face, Liu continued to chant loudly: "The Han family has been in the Han Dynasty for four hundred years. When the Chu and Han Dynasty were fighting, Zhang Liang once "borrowed a chopstick" to plan the battle for Liu Bang, expressing his political ambitions, and finally won the appreciation of Ming Taizu. Today, the poet Zhao Kai wrote a poem "Western Food" and remembered the chopsticks: "I can hold up the chopsticks with poetic and artistic feelings, but I can't let go of the feeling of separation. Two branches of bamboo can build a bridge, and the small bridge signals to go home." The idea is ingenious and meaningful. The writer Feng Jicai once wrote a handwritten poem about chopsticks and presented it to Lan Xiang, a famous Tibetan chopstick master in Shanghai: "There is no way that chopsticks are small, and they accompany you to eat every day; a thousand years of joys and sorrows are all between the two chopsticks." There is also a folk song that uses chopsticks as the answer to the mystery. Lantern riddle poems are very interesting. The poem says: "The sisters are as tall as each other, and they go in and out of the kitchen as two pairs. They are always the first to taste the various flavors of sour, salty, bitter, spicy."

In Chinese classical novels, chopsticks appear frequently. , novelists often use it to achieve the purpose of characterizing characters. According to "Qin Cuisine Ancient and Modern Talk" and "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" by Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties: Tang Xuanzong suddenly gave the golden chopsticks in his hand to Prime Minister Song Jing during an imperial banquet. The prime minister was flattered and was stunned and at a loss in front of his Majesty. Upon seeing this, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty said: "I am not giving you gold, but I am giving you chopsticks to show your straight ears." He praised Song Jing's character as upright as chopsticks. Princess Yongfu refused to obey her father's order on her marriage and broke her chopsticks to show her determination to die rather than surrender. In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", chopsticks have become a highlight of Luo Guanzhong's works. Cao Cao was drinking wine with Cao Cao to talk about heroes. Liu Bei realized Cao Cao's true intention and quickly used the sound of thunder to pretend that he was afraid and dropped his chopsticks to show that he was a mediocre person with no ambition, thus dispelling Cao Cao's wariness and protecting himself. There are also many descriptions of chopsticks in literary works. Cao Xueqin's "A Dream of Red Mansions" has both "ebony three-inlaid silver chopsticks" and "four-flute ivory gold chopsticks" that appear on the dining table in the Grand View Garden. Chapter 40 of "Red Dream" writes: "Sister Feng held a Western cloth handkerchief in her hand, wrapped in ebony and inlaid with silver chopsticks, and placed it on the table." This shows the glory and wealth of the Jia family. There is a description in the fourth chapter of the satirical novel "The Scholars": Not long after Fan Jin passed the imperial examination, he lost his mother and kept filial piety. At this time, the Tang magistrate invited him to a banquet with delicacies from the mountains and seas, fine wine and delicacies, and "silver-mounted cups and chopsticks." Fan Jin retreated and refused to sit down. The county magistrate Tang didn't understand the reason, so after Zhang Jingzhai's advice, he "replaced it with a porcelain cup and a pair of elephant chopsticks." But Fan Jin still refused to eat, so he put on a pair of white bamboo chopsticks, which Fan Dancai used to pick up a prawn dumpling from the bird's nest and put it into his mouth. It turns out that in the eyes of this pretentious filial piety person, only white bamboo chopsticks are the most consistent with "filial piety". As for whether eating meat and fish hinders "filial piety", it is irrelevant. Through this calm description of "changing chopsticks to eat", the author of the novel uses spicy pen and ink to expose the gentlemen who talk about "poetic prescriptions" and "Confucius' sayings", but they are actually hypocrites. It is not surprising that this kind of thing is common in literary works. A handful of chopsticks (that is, a pair of chopsticks tied together) is difficult to break, but a pair of chopsticks is easy to break. In people's daily life, it is often said that a pair of chopsticks constitutes a collective, while a single chopstick appears alone and cannot support a building. Unity is strength, and collective power is invincible.

Throughout the ages, there have been many interesting anecdotes about chopsticks.

According to legend, there was a giant in the Western Han Dynasty, a brave military general with huge arms and strong waist. He had a unique habit of using two or three kilograms of iron chopsticks for meals every day to show that he had strong arms and wrists. Superhuman strength. It is also said that there was a hero of the Miao people in western Hunan who fought against the Qing Dynasty. The weapon he used was nothing else but a pair of two-foot-long iron chopsticks. He was known as the "King of Chopsticks." His chopstick skills were divided into light skills and hard skills. His Kung Fu can catch flying mosquitoes, and he can catch them again, release them, and catch them again without harming the mosquitoes. His hard work can kill the enemy with a chopstick, which is what the Song Dynasty people are doing. He [芫+辶] recorded a good story in "Chun Zhu Ji Wen". Liu Yun in the Liu and Song Dynasties of the Southern Dynasty once composed a poem. When he was composing a poem, he was playing the piano with his pen, and the guest said that someone "made peace with chopsticks." Liu Yun was greatly surprised by the mournful rhyme played, so he "made it into Yayin". In fact, examples of using chopsticks as musical instruments are common on the literary and artistic stage. Qingyin is one of the folk arts popular in Sichuan, and it is It was developed from a folk tune during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It was mostly performed by one person. The actor used his left hand to hit the bamboo board and sang with his right hand. Among the Mongolian people, chopsticks were also used as props in dance performances. The dance has a long history and is popular in Inner Mongolia. At first, it was mostly performed by men alone. After liberation, it developed into a group dance for men and women. During the performance, the dancers hold a bunch of red lacquer chopsticks in their left and right hands, and vigorously tap their shoulders, waist, legs, and legs to the melody of the music. Feet and other parts, sometimes hitting the ground, sometimes hitting each other, sometimes rotating, sometimes kneeling and squatting, the shoulders and waist twist accordingly, dancing while hitting, the movements are vigorous, the rhythm is strong, the scene is touching, and has a strong grassland atmosphere. It is a reflection of the happy life of the herdsmen. In the early days of liberation, Mongolian chopsticks were popular all over the country, and people also enjoyed dancing with chopsticks. Some people use chopsticks as performance props, and they can also be found on the traditional opera stage. Mulian Opera is a large-scale entertainment activity that combines religious, folk customs and other factors. It is an indispensable opening scene of "Moun Mulian". When the bride gets on the sedan chair, she has to throw 24 pairs of chopsticks and sing the "Chopstick Throwing Song". This is a folk culture where people use chopsticks to ask for favors and pray for "a happy baby". The artistic representation of psychology in opera. On the wedding night in Northeast China, it is customary for someone to throw a handful of chopsticks out of the window in order to wish for a happy baby. The "chopsticks" used by the groom to have breakfast at his father-in-law's house must be specially made from fine wattle bamboo that is five or six feet long, with clusters of green leaves on the tips and tied with flowers and other things. When the groom picks up the pair of "chopsticks", his hands often shake violently, and sometimes he has to carry them on his shoulders. Interestingly, the dishes the groom eats are all specially made, such as fried peanuts, rice noodles, tofu, etc. Things like water vegetables are either too thin to be picked up, too slippery to hold, or so soft that they break when touched. This meal often makes the strong and impressive grooms sweat profusely. Give him a warning and ask him to be more considerate to his wife in the future!

Most of the chopsticks in ancient my country were made of bamboo, as evidenced by the fact that both "chopsticks" and "箸" have the prefix "bamboo". Later, with the development of social productivity, feudal emperors and nobles, in order to show off their status and wealth, used precious materials such as gold, silver, jade, and ivory to make chopsticks as a symbol of their wealth. . These chopsticks can still be seen in the Treasure Hall of the Palace Museum today. Chopsticks are combined with paintings and sculptures, and with the skillful touches of artists, they can be made into high-end, exquisite and uniquely charming crafts. The small chopsticks are neatly arranged in square and round shapes, and are exquisitely designed, either painted or engraved, making them admirable and playable, making them hard to put down. For example, Beijing's ivory chopsticks are lightly engraved with ladies, flowers, birds or landscapes, and are decorated with colorful paintings, which are luxurious and gorgeous. Guilin's pyrographed chopsticks are branded with Imbi Mountain, Reed Flute Cave, Duxiu Peak and other scenery, white and green, elegant and elegant. Nowadays, there are even more varieties of chopsticks. There is a chopstick store in Yuguo Mall in Shanghai, which sells more than 70 varieties, and the shapes are beautiful and the craftsmanship is more exquisite, such as Hangzhou's Tianzhu chopsticks, Ningbo's water-milled bamboo chopsticks, Fujian's Lacquer chopsticks, birdwood chopsticks from Guangdong, carved bamboo chopsticks from Sichuan, lacquered hot-flowered chopsticks from Jiangxi, hardwood chopsticks inlaid with silver wire from Weifang, Shandong, white wood chopsticks from Suzhou and nanmu chopsticks from Yunnan are all famous products of the large family of Chinese chopsticks. Now, Beijing has produced high-end chopsticks made of hardwood, copper, ivory, jade and other raw materials, combined with cloisonne, carving, inlay and other techniques. Some bamboo and wooden chopsticks are also printed with various patterns or famous poems on their tops, and some are even carved with the twelve zodiac animals, which is very exquisite. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various chopsticks developed from simple tableware into exquisite handicrafts. Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty said in "Suiyuan Food List": "Food is not as good as beautiful utensils, as the saying goes." In the Qing Dynasty, Wu Tian, ??a famous artist who painted chopsticks in Wuding County, Yunnan Province, was known for his ability to paint chopsticks in Changbuying. The chopsticks of the ruler are painted with "Pictures of Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" and "Pictures of Eighteen Scholars in Yingzhou" by the Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben. The characters, men, and clothing are lifelike. His skills are said to be unparalleled in the world. The chopsticks are made by himself. It is also worth a hundred times. The bamboo spring chopsticks of Jiang'an, Sichuan are famous both at home and abroad. In 1919, they won the medal of excellence at the Panama International Exposition. This chopstick was created in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. It is made from long-segmented and thick-walled bamboo, and is carefully carved through multiple processes such as boiling, making blanks, exposing and polishing. There are more than 80 varieties of carved lion-headed bamboo chopsticks, including single lions, double lions, lions stepping on treasures, and lions and lions.

It is said that to make a pair of traditional lion head spring chopsticks, it sometimes takes three hundred to four hundred carvings to complete just two lion heads. The fine workmanship and exquisite skills are really impressive! This chopstick painting and chopstick carving constitute a unique folk feature in the palace of Chinese arts and crafts.

In addition, chopsticks also have a deep connection with the traditional art of calligraphy. In the 1950s, in his article "Eating and Chopsticks", Zhidang talked about the differences between Westerners' knives and forks and Chinese people's chopsticks and pointed out: "It is difficult to say that there is any cultural superiority between knives and forks and chopsticks. In short, because With these similarities and differences, there is a close relationship between using chopsticks and using a pen, just like the gesture of holding a pen comes from holding a knife and fork. The ability to write Chinese characters in North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Singapore is certainly due to the influence of the Chinese culture in the past. , partly due to the habit of holding chopsticks when eating, which makes it easier for them to hold pens. I think this is possible. "Westerners hold pens instead of knives and forks, and Chinese people hold brushes instead of chopsticks. This is what Mr. Zhitang said. The genetic inference is quite interesting. Today, Mr. Lan Xiang, a chopstick collector in Shanghai, even uses chopsticks as a ghostwriter to practice "double chopstick calligraphy", which he calls "Yegu Zen". His reputation spreads, and calligraphy requests come to him one after another. On July 2, 1994, the "National Culture News" also introduced a military clerk who was very successful in practicing bamboo chopstick calligraphy.

With the advancement of human science and technology and the development of history, the chopsticks used by people today are even more diverse. In addition to those made of bamboo, wood, iron, copper, and ivory in the past, there are also those made of plastic, stainless steel, aluminum alloy and other materials, with various patterns engraved on them. Various calligraphy styles. Of course, ordinary people still use chopsticks made of wood and bamboo. Because people cannot do without chopsticks for three meals a day. It also adds endless fun to people's lives. When you walk into a chopstick shop, you can see the world of Dagan on tiny chopsticks. It is really a dazzling array of things, so beautiful that it makes people dazzled. Therefore, some people believe that the reason why Chinese people are smart is due to chopsticks. Although this is a bit exaggerated, it is not unreasonable. Today, this simple and lightweight tableware has not become an antique and entered the history museum. Instead, it has become very popular because scientists have given it new meaning.

However, Chinese people are very particular about using chopsticks. Generally, when dining, they are not allowed to knock their chopsticks. In other words, they cannot use chopsticks to knock dishes and cups at will. This will urge the host to hurry up. The taste of the food; the second avoidance of throwing chopsticks, that is, when giving out chopsticks, you should straighten your hands and place the chopsticks gently in front of everyone, and do not throw them around; the third avoidance of forking chopsticks, that is to say, the chopsticks cannot be placed crosswise. Pairs of chopsticks should be placed in an orderly manner, head to tail; four taboos on chopstick insertion, that is, do not insert chopsticks on the top of the rice bowl or on the top of the plate. According to folk customs, this is for sacrificing the deceased; five taboos Waving chopsticks means you can't rummage up and down on the plate, just like a chicken pecking at rice. It's offensive to diners and is very uncivilized. Six taboos on chopsticks means you can't use chopsticks as knives when eating. Dancing wildly on the boat is also a symbol of uncivilization; the seven taboos of resting chopsticks are that when eating on a folk wooden sailing boat, you cannot put the chopsticks on the bowl after eating. This means that the boat will run aground. This is a big mistake for boatmen. Taboo!

Although it is not yet confirmed when Chinese chopsticks were introduced overseas, the historical fact that they have traveled across the oceans and spread across five continents and are loved by people of all skin colors is actually quite interesting. for delicate topics. Nowadays, not only most countries in Asia use chopsticks, but also those peoples in the West who traditionally use knives and forks also commonly produce and use chopsticks. Westside City, Minnesota, USA. One has the largest chopstick manufacturing factory in the world, so it is known as "Chopstick City", with annual sales of up to 14 million US dollars. In addition to its practical functions, chopsticks are also widely collected as works of art around the world. Mr. Lan Xiang, a chopstick collector in Shanghai, has collected no less than a thousand pairs of various famous chopsticks. Among them is a pair of gilt silver chopsticks from the Tang Dynasty, with a round top and a bottom, silver leather inlaid with wooden tires, and a length of 28 centimeters. On the upper end of the chopsticks, there is a 3 cm circular gilt decoration. After thousands of years of baptism, the gold color is faintly discernible. Although the chopsticks are now mottled, they still cannot conceal their exquisite and luxurious original appearance. There is a chopstick collector in Indonesia who has as many as 900 pairs of treasures in his collection. The most valuable pair is said to be a pair of gold chopsticks used by an imperial concubine in the Ming Dynasty of my country. At present, with the improvement of our country's international status, the reputation of chopsticks is also quietly growing. Chopsticks, as a symbol of Chinese culture, sometimes have special commemorative significance. On February 21, 1972, when US President Nixon visited China, Premier Zhou held a banquet in the Great Hall of the People. As the first sitting president in history to visit China, Nixon used Chinese chopsticks at a banquet held by the Chinese government for the first time. Just after the banquet, Burns, a reporter from the Canadian "Toronto Globe and Mail" in Beijing, took away the pair of chopsticks used by Nixon. The guests present immediately gave warm applause to the reporter's funny move. After the news spread, someone offered a pair of chopsticks for a high price of US$2,000. Burns refused to part with them. It is said that he later asked for a price of US$5,000. 1986. During Queen Elizabeth II's visit to China, there was also a tidbit about chopsticks. In the Royal Television's special program reporting on the Queen's visit to China, what interests the British the most is the close-up shot of the Queen skillfully using chopsticks to eat at a Chinese state banquet: a large photo published by a newspaper with the caption: The waiter at the state banquet is A pair of chopsticks for the Queen; another newspaper headlined the issue of using chopsticks to pick up longans.

Covering the Queen's state banquet. In a sci-fi film produced by the famous American director Stevens a few years ago, he specially designed a scene in which the hero and heroine eat with lead chopsticks on a spaceship. It is said that because of this, this kind of lead chopsticks quickly became popular on the market. of fashionable products, each pair sells for $40. Chopsticks are tableware that people of the Yan and Huang Dynasties are proud of. As Miss Corbin, a famous movie star from the Federal Republic of Germany who once visited Shanghai, said - "I can eat with Chinese chopsticks, which is like being half Chinese."

Influenced by Chinese culture, Japan, North Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries all use chopsticks as tableware. Chopsticks, this kind of lightweight tableware, have undergone many changes in the software and hardware of chopstick culture over the past 1,300 years since AL sent envoys to the Sui Dynasty to introduce them to Japan. "箸" is an ancient character that has been closely related to Chinese people's lives since the Warring States Period, and is still commonly used in Japanese today. When talking about Japanese characters, we have to talk about the unique expressions before and after eating. Japanese people must say "I accept it" before using their chopsticks. After putting down their chopsticks after a meal, they say "I have received a feast." These expressions are full of religious emotions. The words are actually a thank you for the food we collect from the mountains and seas, as well as the gifts of heaven, earth, and nature.

The materials of Japanese chopsticks are extremely exquisite in design. The most common ones include bamboo, cedar, cypress, and Japanese cypress. Chops made of Ramu, rosewood, copper, aluminum alloy, synthetic resin, etc.; when there are festivals and happy events, willow chopsticks called "Xi chopsticks" are used, while mulberry chopsticks mean longevity. My use of chopsticks was introduced to Japan from China via the Korean Peninsula between the fourth and sixth centuries. Japan is a country that worships Chinese chopsticks. The Japanese still retain the ancient name of Chinese chopsticks "箸". Japan was deeply influenced by my country in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Influenced by rules and regulations, metal chopsticks are used to eat Chinese-style meals at banquets in the palace and nobles to show their dignity. The Japanese attach great importance to the role of chopsticks in daily life. There is a chopstick school in Tokyo that specializes in teaching students. Each trainee trains for three months on how to use chopsticks. Japanese medical experts believe that using chopsticks in children can also help with the development of intelligence, so more and more people are using chopsticks in the country that consumes the most chopsticks. In Japan, according to statistics released by the Japanese Tax Bureau, more than 7 billion pairs of chopsticks are consumed nationwide every year. In modern times, disposable chopsticks have become more and more popular. Japan also regards this new trend of popular use of chopsticks. To promote the most basic symbol of Japanese culture. It is said that a scholar named Honda Soichiro suggested that August 4th be designated as "Chopsticks Day" every year in order to thank chopsticks for their hard work in serving people. The initiative received an enthusiastic response from people immediately. On August 4, 1980, the "Festival Meeting to Defend Japan" held chopstick worship ceremonies at Hie Shrine in Akasaka, Tokyo, and Hachiman Shrine in Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture. . On this day, people celebrate this solemn and sacred festival with singing and dancing. Since then, Japan has had a "Chopstick Festival". On this day, every household celebrates lively. To thank chopsticks for serving them three meals a day. In the countryside, there are festive banquets such as sowing, transplanting rice, harvest, birthdays or weddings. Everyone has to put on new chopsticks to show their joy.