More than 50 pieces of copper knives and forks were unearthed from a Warring States tomb in Luoyang. A copper table fork from the Eastern Han Dynasty was unearthed in Jiuquan, Gansu. An iron table fork from the Eastern Jin Dynasty was unearthed in Guangdong. Forks and knives from the Yuan Dynasty were unearthed in Zhangxian, Gansu...
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In other words, China has been using knives and forks for eating at least three thousand years ago, but why did knives and forks disappear later?
It's very simple. Things like knives and forks are laborious to make, a waste of materials and impractical!
After summing up the experience based on many years of experience, our ancestors decisively threw it aside and no longer needed it!
Of course, if you don’t use it, there must be a substitute. Otherwise, you can’t grab it with your hands, right?
However, when it comes to chopsticks, they did not replace knives and forks overnight. According to historical records, the earliest chopsticks in China were 6 copper chopstick heads found in Tomb No. 1005 of Yinxu, Anyang. It can be seen from this that the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago
In the early dynasty, chopsticks appeared on the Chinese dining table.
Of course, there is another legend that I don’t know whether it is true or not. It is said that when Dayu was controlling the floods, he cooked a pot of food and was eager to eat it. He took two sticks and ate it, which ushered in the era of chopsticks. But after all, this is
Legend is not a good source.
By the Warring States Period 2,500 years ago, chopsticks had basically become the mainstream on the dining table. At that time, we Chinese people began to use chopsticks on a large scale. At that time, except for a few extremely stubborn people, the knives and forks at that time continued to be used.
In addition, you can basically only enter the kitchen to cut vegetables and so on, and it is difficult to enter the elegant hall.
From another perspective, whether it is a knife, fork or chopsticks, they are actually a natural choice for the advancement of social productivity.
The original appearance of knives and forks was because people made a living by hunting. They caught wild animals, put them on the fire and grilled them directly. Large pieces of meat were difficult to swallow, so they cut them with knives and picked them up with forks.
Later, as China's agricultural civilization matured, food materials became increasingly abundant, and processing methods began to become diversified and refined. The method of cutting and eating cooked food at the dinner table could no longer meet people's living needs. In addition, with the improvement of productivity, people's food has changed from
Meeting their own survival needs began to turn into the pursuit of delicious food. So people began to have time to cook food. Before cooking, they cut the food and put it in the pot. When it was served, it was already the most suitable size for swallowing and chewing. So they picked it up with chopsticks and directly
Putting it in your mouth is more convenient.
Furthermore, if you put knives and forks on the table, it is very easy to cause trouble if there is a conflict or something. The advantage of chopsticks is that they are safer than knives and forks, and the way you eat is more elegant and calm. Before the Warring States Period, those who could use chopsticks were nobles. Use chopsticks to eat.
At that time, it was a symbol of social status. Later, chopsticks became popular among the people as a fashion.
Luxurious and exquisite chopsticks are not only tableware, but also a symbol of wealth.
For example, Liu Yu, the founding emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, gave chopsticks to his minister Shen Qingzhi; Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, once rewarded Prime Minister Song Jing with gold chopsticks that he used himself.
Therefore, the elimination of knives and forks by chopsticks is an inevitable result of the development of Chinese social civilization.
As for why the West did not choose chopsticks but knives and forks, the reason is actually very simple.
Because in ancient times, the West did not use knives and forks at all. They all ate with their hands. Of course, it was fortunate that they did not have hot pot, otherwise knives and forks would have been on the dining table earlier.
The reason why people eat with their hands is because the West regards Egyptian culture as the source of its own culture. The Egyptian habit of eating with hands has influenced the Western way of eating.
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This can be seen from the various murals of hand-held food in the pyramids. In addition, ancient Greece and ancient Rome also used their hands to eat. Even in Rome, the most powerful country at the time, the most fashionable way of eating was for aristocrats.
Lie on the bed and grab food with your hands. In many European and American historical films and TV dramas, we can see that people at that time did not use knives and forks.
By the Middle Ages... Well, judging from the way your eyes are staring, I guess I don’t know how long ago the Middle Ages was. Well, actually it was 1,000 years ago, and Europeans still ate with their hands.
At that time, European courts were very particular about eating. In order to distinguish between high and low status, the royal family and nobles used three fingers instead of five fingers like common people. Therefore, today's forks are all three-pronged. Those nobles' fingers were stained.
Oil and water cannot be licked or wiped with clothes like ordinary people. Instead, special cloth must be used. This is the origin of napkins.
All this was their helpless choice, because of the geographical environment of Europe at that time, agriculture was always backward. Without the current irrigation technology and production conditions, European society has always been in a semi-agricultural and semi-nomadic state. The backward production methods led to a lack of food.
Even the nobles at that time found it difficult to have enough to eat, let alone eat well.
As far as the poor monk knows, in the early Middle Ages, the church promulgated the seven deadly sins, among which was the ridiculous felony of "gluttony". There were often famines at that time, and the lords wandered around with their entourages. Every time they went to their subordinates' manors, they might...
Eating too much also caused many nobles to starve to death, so the church condemned and warned those gluttonous nobles.
Therefore, their social productivity has always been very low, and they have no mood to think about how to enjoy delicious food.
Furthermore, the Europeans’ diet was very simple, consisting mainly of grains, beans, and a small amount of fruits and vegetables. Not to mention chopsticks, even knives and forks were useless, just use your hands. At that time, including Queen Elizabeth I of England,
Louis XIV of France was still eating with his hands.
Later, European courts and nobles were influenced by Eastern culture and accepted knives and forks.
So, tracing back to the origin, the knives and forks used by Westerners are still learned from us. Therefore, some ignorant children now envy the gentlemen in Europe and America who use knives and forks. I really don’t know what they think.
If they like European and American habits so much, they can try hotpot."
Speaking of this, Fang Zheng paused. After talking so much in one breath, his mouth was dry. He drank a large bowl of water and saw Hong Boy playing with his mobile phone. He frowned and asked, "Jing Xin, what are you doing?"
What are you doing?"
Honghai'er said: "I'll write down what you just said, Master, and post it on Weibo. I'll also scold those fools!"
Fang Zheng glared at Hong Hai'er and said, "Monk, don't curse people unless the person you curse is not a human being!"
"Yes, Master! These fools!" Red Boy continued to scold.
Fang Zheng looked like a child who could be taught. He smiled and poked the squirrel on the table that was about to roll over, and asked, "What did you just say, Master?"
The squirrel rolled his big eyes and said immediately: "Speaking of them learning knives and forks from us."
Fang Zheng patted his head and said, "Yes, it's right here. This is not bragging, this is something with historical evidence.
At that time, Chinese civilization was as bright as the scorching sun in the East, shining on the world. At that time, the first people to be affected were the ethnic minorities around China. At that time, the nobles among them also began to use chopsticks. But what should I do if they still have to cut and eat meat?
?So, the knife and chopsticks combination appeared, pursuing practicality and a sense of procedure at the same time, aristocratic style.
If you don’t believe me, go take a look at the Dong, Tujia and other ethnic minorities. Up to now, they still use chopsticks in the process of proposal, engagement, and marriage, and they have become mascots. Especially the chopstick dance during the Mongolian Festival gives chopsticks a festive and festive feel.
Auspicious meaning.
After they were affected, they got out of hand. Arab and other countries were affected one after another, so Chinese knives, forks and chopsticks spread to Central Asia and Europe.
As for when Europeans began to use knives and forks, in fact, even Western scholars and experts don’t know, so everyone can only infer and guess.
Some people believe that the beginning of the use of knives and forks in Europe can be dated to the 10th century AD, which is the period of the Byzantine Empire, while others believe that it was the 15th century.
Western historian Rhea Tannahill said: Forks were originally used in the Near East for many years, but only as utensils in the kitchen. The widespread use of forks as tableware began in the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. During this period, Byzantium was in the
At the point of cultural exchange between the East and the West, European society accepted many cultures and inventions from the East, such as paper, gunpowder, etc., and of course knives, forks and chopsticks.
As soon as knives and forks were introduced to Europe, they encountered discrimination and rejection. At that time, the British church opposed eating with knives and forks, believing that food was a gift from God for the benefit of mankind. It was arrogant and insulting to God not to touch food with fingers. Medieval Times
German missionaries even denounced forks as "the devil's luxury goods" and said, "If God wanted us to use this tool, He would not have given us fingers."
But after all, eating with a knife, fork and chopsticks is much more civilized than eating with your hands. Slowly, European courts began to accept eating with a knife and fork.
King Charles V of France vigorously promoted knives and forks. His palace displayed gold and silver forks with the words "use them when eating mulberries or food that easily stains your hands."
The introduction of the fork is also a sign that Western diet has entered the civilized era. Due to the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe in the late Middle Ages, the population plummeted and the land was idle and turned into pasture. This also led to the development of European animal husbandry, and meat became their main staple food.
One of the foods, knives and forks are of course more popular than chopsticks.
Furthermore, in the past, European cooking methods were very simple and crude. There were only three simple methods: stewing, boiling, and baking, and there was no need for utensils like chopsticks.
The backwardness of food culture and methods has forced Europe to choose knives and forks instead of chopsticks.
Speaking of this, in fact, to sum up, the knives and forks they use are actually the product of poverty, backwardness, and primitiveness. They are not noble things at all. Those guys who worship foreigners, to put it bluntly, do not think that knives and forks are noble, but that they are
He was beaten until he knelt down and could not stand up.
After all, in the past two hundred years, the West has rapidly risen industrially, defeated the East, and destroyed the self-confidence of the Chinese people. They believed that the Western culture and lifestyle were superior to their own culture, and instead regarded using knives and forks as fashionable. Little did they know that this was just
It's a bad thing that our ancestors despised.
But it doesn’t matter if ordinary people don’t understand. Why are luxury brands so ignorant? Do they think that China today is still China back then? Do they just want to call a deer a horse? They are really ignorant..."
Honghai'er immediately followed: "Yes, that's a bunch of idiots!"