More than 50 pieces of copper knives and forks were unearthed in a Warring States tomb in Luoyang. A copper dinner fork from the Eastern Han Dynasty was unearthed in Jiuquan, Gansu. An iron dinner fork from the Eastern Jin Dynasty was unearthed in Guangdong. Forks and knives from the Yuan Dynasty were unearthed in Zhangxian, Gansu.
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 with 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 just grab it with your hands, right
But when it comes to chopsticks, they didn’t replace knives and forks overnight. According to historical records, the earliest chopsticks in China were the six copper chopstick heads found in Tomb No. 1005 of Yinxu in Anyang. It can be seen that in the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, chopsticks appeared on the Chinese dinner table.
Of course, there is also a legend that is not sure 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 between them, which ushered in the era of chopsticks. But this is a legend after all and cannot be used as a 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 who continued to use knives and forks, they could basically only be used in the kitchen to cut vegetables and so on.
From another perspective, be it knives, forks or chopsticks, they are actually just natural choices 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 directly 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 to pursuing delicious food enjoyment. So people began to have time to cook food, cut it into pots before cooking, and when it was served, it was already the most suitable size for swallowing and chewing. So it is more convenient to pick it up with chopsticks and put it directly into your mouth.
Furthermore, if there is a conflict with knives and forks on the table, it is very easy to cause trouble. 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. Eating with chopsticks was a symbol of social status at the time. After that, 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 forward 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 ancient Westerners did not use knives and forks at all, they all ate with their hands. Of course, it's a good thing they didn't have hot pot, otherwise the knives and forks would have been on the table earlier.
The reason why we eat with our 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.
This can be seen from the various murals of hand-held food in the pyramids. Furthermore, ancient Greeks and Romans also ate with their hands. Even in Rome, the most powerful country at that time, the most fashionable way for nobles to eat was to lie on the bed and grab food with their 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 so straight, I guess I don't know how long ago the Middle Ages was. Well, actually even 1,000 years ago, 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 use three fingers instead of five fingers like the common people. Therefore, today's dinner forks are all three-pronged. When those nobles' fingers were stained with oil and water, they could not lick them or wipe them with their clothes like common people. Instead, they had to use special cloths. This is the origin of napkins.
All this was their helpless choice, because Europe's geographical environment and agriculture were always backward at that time. 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 the scarcity 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 seven deadly sins, among which was the absurd felony of "gluttony". There were often famines at that time, and the lords wandered around with their followers. Every time they went to their subordinates' manor, they would eat more. This also caused many nobles to starve to death. Therefore, 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, Europeans have a very simple diet, which mainly consists of grains, beans, and a small amount of fruits and vegetables. Not to mention chopsticks, even knives and forks are useless, so just use your hands. At that time, including Queen Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France, they still ate with their hands.
Later, European courts and nobles were influenced by Eastern culture and accepted knives and forks.
Therefore, tracing back to the origin, the knives and forks used by Westerners are still learned from us. Therefore, some ignorant children now envy European and American gentlemen 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 hot pot. "
At this point, Fang Zheng paused for a moment. 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 I still have to cut and eat meat? Therefore, the knife and chopsticks combination appeared, pursuing a practical and procedural sense, aristocratic style.
If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the Dong, Tujia and other ethnic minorities. Up to now, chopsticks are still used in the process of proposal, engagement, and marriage, and they have become mascots. In particular, the chopstick dance during the Mongolian Festival gives chopsticks a festive and 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 started using 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 had been 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 at the juncture of cultural exchanges 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 were discriminated against and excluded. 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. Not touching food with fingers was arrogant and insulting to God. German missionaries in the Middle Ages 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.
French King Charles V vigorously promoted knives and forks, and his court displayed gold and silver forks with the inscription "for use when eating mulberries or food that easily stains 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 land was left idle and turned into pastures. This also led to the development of European animal husbandry. Meat became one of their main foods. Knives and forks were 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 which, in fact, to sum up, the knives and forks they use are actually the product of poverty, backwardness, and primitiveness, and are not something noble at all. To put it bluntly, those guys who admire foreign things do not think that knives and forks are noble, but they were beaten to the point of kneeling 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. But they did not 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 now is still the same China then? Do they want to refer to a deer as a horse just because they want to refer to it as a horse? Really ignorant…”
Honghai'er immediately followed: "Yes, that's a bunch of idiots!"
(End of chapter)