In a tomb of the Warring States period in Luoyang, more than 50 bronze knives and forks were unearthed. In Jiuquan, Gansu, there were bronze forks from the Eastern Han Dynasty, iron forks from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and forks and knives from the Yuan Dynasty were unearthed in Zhang County, Gansu …
In other words, Huaxia had been using knives and forks to eat at least 3,000 years ago, but why did knives and forks disappear later?
It was very simple. Things like knives and forks took a lot of effort to make, wasted materials, and were not practical!
After the Elder Ancestor summed it up with many years of experience, he decisively threw it aside. No need!
Of course, if he didn't use it, he would have to find a substitute. Otherwise, he couldn't just grab it with his hands, right?
However, when it came to chopsticks, they didn't replace knives and forks overnight. According to historical records, the earliest chopsticks in China were found in the tomb 1005 of Yin Ruins in Anyang. From this, it could be seen that during the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, chopsticks had appeared on the dining table of China.
Of course, there was also a legend that no one knew if it was true or not. It was said that when Yu the Great was controlling the flood, he cooked a pot of food and was in a hurry to eat it. He picked up two sticks and ate it, starting the era of chopsticks. However, this was a legend after all, so it was not good to use it as a source.
2,500 years ago, during the Warring States period, chopsticks had become the mainstream on the dining table. At that time, Chinese people started to use chopsticks on a large scale. At that time, knives and forks could only be used by a few stubborn people. Most people could only use them in the kitchen to cut vegetables. It was hard for them to enter the hall of elegance.
From another perspective, be it knives or forks or chopsticks, they were just natural choices for the advancement of social productivity.
In the beginning, knives and forks appeared because people relied on hunting for a living. They caught wild beasts and put them on the fire to roast. Large pieces of meat were difficult to swallow, so they were cut with knives and forked to eat.
Later on, China's agricultural civilization matured, and food became increasingly abundant. The processing methods began to diversify and become more refined. The method of eating cooked food on the dining table could no longer satisfy people's needs. In addition, with the increase in productivity, people's need for food had changed from satisfying their own survival needs to pursuing the enjoyment of delicacies. Therefore, people began to have time to cook. Before cooking, they would cut the food and put it in the pot. When it was scooped out, it was already the most suitable size for swallowing and chewing. Therefore, it was more convenient to pick it up with chopsticks and put it directly into his mouth.
Moreover, if there was a knife and fork on the table, it would be very easy for something to happen if there was a conflict. The advantage of chopsticks was that they were safer than knives and forks, and the way they ate was more elegant and calm. Before the Warring States period, only the nobles could use chopsticks. Eating with chopsticks was a symbol of social status. After that, chopsticks became a fashion that was slowly popularized among the people.
Luxurious and exquisite chopsticks were not only tableware, but also a symbol of wealth.
For example, the founding emperor of the Liu Song of the Southern Dynasty, Liu Yu, had bestowed a pair of chopsticks to his minister, Shen Qingzhi. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, had once rewarded Prime Minister Song Jing with a pair of golden chopsticks that he had used before.
Therefore, the elimination of knives and forks by chopsticks was an inevitable result of the advancement of civilization in China.
As for why the West chose to use knives and forks instead of chopsticks, the reason was simple.
This was because the West did not use knives and forks at all in ancient times. They all used their hands to eat. Of course, it was also fortunate that they didn't have hot pot to eat. Otherwise, knives and forks would have been on the dining table earlier.
The reason why they ate with their hands was because the West regarded Egyptian culture as the source of their own culture. The Egyptian habit of eating with their hands influenced the Western way of eating.
This could be seen from the various murals in the pyramids where people held food with their hands. Moreover, ancient Greece and Rome also ate with their hands. Even in the most powerful Rome, the most fashionable way for the nobles to eat was to lie in bed and grab food with their hands. In many European and American historical films, we can see that people at that time did not use knives and forks.
In the Middle Ages … Uh, looking at your blank eyes, I don't know how long ago the Middle Ages was. Well, actually, 1,000 years ago, Europeans still ate with their hands.
At that time, European palaces were very particular about eating. In order to distinguish the difference in status, the royal family and nobles used three fingers, unlike commoners who used five fingers. Therefore, today's forks were all three-toothed. When the nobles' fingers were stained with grease, they could not lick it or wipe it with their clothes like commoners. Instead, they had to use a special cloth. This was the origin of the napkin.
All of this was a choice they had no choice. Because of the geographical environment of Europe at that time, agriculture had always been backward. Without the current irrigation technology and production conditions, European society had 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 eat their fill, much less eat well.
According to what This Penniless Monk knows, in the early Middle Ages, the Church promulgated the Seven Deadly Sins. One of them was the absurd felony of 'gluttony'. At that time, there were frequent famines. Lords wandered around with their followers. Every time they went to a subordinate's manor, they would eat more. This also caused many nobles to die from overeating. Therefore, the Church convicted and warned the gluttonous nobles.
Therefore, their social productivity had always been very low. How could they have the mood to think about how to enjoy food?
Furthermore, the European diet was very simple. It was mainly grains, beans, and a small amount of fruits and vegetables. Not to mention chopsticks, even knives and forks were useless. They could just use their hands. At that time, including England's Queen Elizabeth I and France's Louis XIV, they still ate with their hands.
Later, the European palaces and nobles were influenced by Eastern culture and accepted knives and forks.
Therefore, if we trace back to the source, the Westerners learned to use knives and forks from us. Therefore, some ignorant children nowadays envy the Europeans for being gentlemen who use knives and forks. This Penniless Monk really doesn't know what they are thinking.
If they like the Europeans' habits that much, they can try hand-held hotpot. "
With that said, Fangzheng paused. Having said so much in one go, his mouth was dry. After drinking a big bowl of water, he saw Red Boy playing with his cell phone. He frowned and asked, "Jingxin, what are you doing?"
Red Boy said, "Master, I wrote down what you just said and posted it on Weibo. I also wanted to scold those idiots! "
Qin Shou glared at Red Boy and said, "As a monk, don't scold others unless they're not humans!"
"Yes, Master! Those idiots! "Red Boy continued scolding.
Qin Shou looked like he was being taught. He chuckled as he prodded Squirrel, who was about to roll around on the table. He asked, "Where was I?"
Squirrel's eyes darted around and immediately said, "I was talking about them learning how to use knives and forks from us."
Qin Shou smacked his head and said, "Yes, that's it. This isn't bragging. It's something with historical evidence.
Back then, the Chinese civilization was as resplendent as the sun in the east, illuminating the world. Back then, the first to be affected were the ethnic minorities around China. At that time, the nobles among them also began to use chopsticks. However, they still had to cut and eat meat. What could they do? Hence, the knife and chopsticks combination appeared. They pursued practicality and a sense of procedure, making them look like nobles.
If you don't believe me, you can look at the Dong people, Tu people, and other ethnic minorities. Even now, they still use chopsticks in the process of marriage proposal, engagement, and marriage. They have become mascots. Especially the chopsticks dance during the Mongolian Festival, which gave chopsticks a festive and auspicious feeling.
After they were influenced, it got out of hand. Arab and other countries were influenced one after another. Hence, China's knives, forks, and chopsticks spread to Central Asia and Europe.
As for when Europeans started using knives and forks, even Western scholars and experts didn't know. Therefore, everyone could only make inferences and guesses.
Some people believed that the use of knives and forks in Europe could be dated back to the 10th century AD, which was during the Byzantine Empire. Some people believed that it was in the 15th century.
Western historian Reah Tannahill said that forks were used in the Near East for many years, but they were only used as kitchen utensils. The widespread use of forks as cutlery started in the 10th century AD, during the Byzantine Empire. During this period, the Byzantine Empire was at the juncture of cultural exchange between the East and the West. European society accepted a lot of culture and inventions from the East, such as paper, gunpowder, and of course, knives, forks, and chopsticks.
As soon as knives and forks were introduced to Europe, they were discriminated against and rejected. At that time, the Church of England opposed eating with knives and forks. They believed that food was a gift from God for the benefit of mankind. Not touching food with your fingers was an insult to God. Medieval German missionaries even denounced forks as "the devil's luxury". They said, "If God wanted us to use such tools, he wouldn't have given us fingers."
But after all, eating with knives, forks, and chopsticks was much more civilized than eating with your hands. Slowly, European courts began to accept eating with knives and forks.
King Charles V of France strongly promoted knives and forks. His court was decorated with gold and silver forks, and it was stated, "Use when eating mulberries or food that will easily dirty your hands."
The introduction of forks was also a sign that Western cuisine had entered a civilized era. In the late Middle Ages, due to the outbreak of the Black Death, the population of Europe plummeted, and the land became idle. This also led to the development of European animal husbandry. Meat became one of their main foods. Of course, knives and forks were 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. There was no need for utensils like chopsticks.
The food culture and methods were backward, so Europe could only choose knives and forks instead of chopsticks.
Speaking of which, the knives and forks they used were actually poor, backward, and primitive products. They were not high-end items at all. To put it bluntly, those who worshipped foreign things did not think that knives and forks were noble. It was because they were beaten to their knees and could not stand up again.
After all, in the recent 200 years, the West rose rapidly with its industry and defeated the East. It also destroyed the confidence of the Chinese. They felt that the West's culture and lifestyle were superior to their own. Instead, they used knives and forks as a fashion. But they did not know that this was just something their ancestors despised.
But it's fine if ordinary people do not understand, but why are those luxury brands so ignorant? Do they think that the current China is still the China of the past? Do they think they can point fingers at a deer and call it a horse? How ignorant … "
Red Boy immediately followed. "That's right. They are a bunch of idiots!"
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