Chapter 1504 Don't Swear

In a Warring States tomb in Luoyang, more than 50 pieces of copper knives and forks were unearthed. A copper dinner fork of the Eastern Han Dynasty was unearthed in Jiuquan, Gansu, an iron dinner fork of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was unearthed in Guangdong, and a dinner fork and table knife of the Yuan Dynasty was unearthed in Zhangxian County, Gansu.

In other words, China has been using knives and forks to eat at least three thousand years ago, but why did the knives and forks disappear later?

Very simple, such things as knives and forks are laborious to make, waste materials and are not practical!

After the ancestors summed up with years of experience, they decisively threw it aside, no need!

Of course, if you don’t use it, there must be a substitute, otherwise, you can’t 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 are six copper chopstick heads found in Tomb No. 1005, Yinxu, Anyang. It can be seen that in the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, chopsticks were on the Chinese dining table.

Of course, there is another legend that is not known to be true or not. It is said that when Dayu was controlling the water, he cooked a pot of vegetables and was eager to eat. He took two sticks and ate them, which opened the era of chopsticks. But this is a legend after all, not good 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 began to use chopsticks on a large scale. The knives and forks at that time, except for a few extremely stubborn people who continued to use them, basically could only be used in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and so on, and it was difficult to be elegant.

From another perspective, whether it is a knife and fork or chopsticks, they are actually the natural choice for the progress of social productivity.

Knives and forks appeared at the beginning because people made a living by hunting. They caught wild animals and put them on the fire for direct barbecue. Large pieces of meat were difficult to swallow, so they were cut directly with a knife and picked with a fork to eat.

Later, as the agricultural civilization of China matured, the ingredients became more and more abundant, and the processing methods began to be diversified and refined. The way of cutting and eating cooked food at the dining table could no longer meet people's daily needs. In addition, with the improvement of productivity, people's food has changed from meeting their own survival needs to pursuing the enjoyment of delicious food. So people began to have time to cook food, cut it into the pot 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 in the mouth.

Furthermore, if there is a conflict with a knife and fork on the table, it is very easy to cause an accident. The advantage of chopsticks is that they are safer than knives and forks, and they are more elegant and calm when eating. Before the Warring States Period, only nobles could use chopsticks. Eating with chopsticks was a symbol of social status at the time. Afterwards, chopsticks were gradually popularized 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 Tang Dynasty, once rewarded the golden chopsticks used by Prime Minister Song Jing himself.

Therefore, the elimination of knives and forks by chopsticks is the 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's also fortunate that they don't have hot pot to eat, otherwise the knives and forks would have been on the table earlier.

The reason why people eat with their hands is that the West regards Egyptian culture as the source of its own culture, and the habit of eating with hands in Egypt has influenced the way of eating in the West.

This can be seen from the various murals in the pyramids holding food with hands, and the ancient Greeks and Romans also ate with their hands. Even in the most powerful Rome 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 film and television dramas, we can see that people at that time did not use knives and forks.

In the middle ages... Uh, judging by the way your eyes are straight, I don't know how long ago the middle ages were. Well, in fact, 1000 years ago, Europeans still ate with their hands.

At that time, European courts were very particular about meals. In order to distinguish the level of status, the royal family and the nobles use three fingers instead of five fingers like ordinary people. Therefore, today's dinner forks are all three-toothed. Those aristocrats cannot lick or wipe their fingers with oil and water like civilians, but use special cloths, which is the origin of napkins.

All this was their helpless choice, because 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 method led to a lack of food, and even the nobles at that time found it difficult to eat enough, let alone eat well.

As far as the poor monk knows, in the early Middle Ages, the church promulgated seven deadly sins, one of which was the absurd felony of "gluttony". There were often famines at that time, and the lords wandered around with their entourages. Every time they went to a subordinate manor, they might eat too much. This also caused many nobles to die. Therefore, the church condemned and warned those gluttonous nobles.

Therefore, their social productivity has always been low, so they don't have the mood to think about how to enjoy food.

Furthermore, the diet of Europeans is very simple, mainly grains, beans, and a small amount of fruits and vegetables. Not to mention chopsticks, even knives and forks are useless, just use your hands. At that time, Queen Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France were still eating with their hands.

Later, European courts and nobles were influenced by oriental culture before they accepted knives and forks.

Therefore, tracing back to the source, the knives and forks used by Westerners are still learned from us. So, now some ignorant children are envious of European and American gentlemen who use knives and forks. The poor monk really doesn't know what they think.

If they like the habits of Europeans and Americans so much, they can try hot pot. "

Speaking of this, Fangzheng paused, talked so much in one breath, his mouth was dry, and after drinking a large bowl of water, he saw the red boy playing with his mobile phone there, frowned, and asked: "Jingxin, what are you talking about?" What are you doing?"

Hong Haier said: "Master, I wrote down what you just said, and posted it on Weibo. By the way, I will scold you, those idiots!"

Fangzheng glared at Honghaier and said, "Monk, don't scold others, unless you scold someone who is not human!"

"Yes, Master! These fools!" Hong Haier continued to scold.

Fang Zhengze looked like a teachable child, he poked the squirrel on the table with a smile and asked, "What did you say just now?"

The squirrel rolled its eyes wide, and immediately said, "Speaking of them learning knives and forks from us."

Fangzheng patted his head and said, "Yes, it's here. This is not bragging, it's 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 to be affected were the ethnic minorities around China. At that time, the nobles among them also began to use chopsticks. However, what should I do if I still need to cut and eat meat? As a result, the knife and chopsticks combination appeared, and the pursuit is practical and at the same time very programmatic, aristocratic style.

If you don’t believe me, go and see the Dong, Tujia and other ethnic minorities. Up to now, chopsticks are still interspersed in the process of marriage proposal, engagement, and marriage, and they have become mascots. In particular, the chopstick dance on the Mongolian Festival gives the chopsticks a festive and auspicious meaning.

After they were affected, they got out of hand. Arabia and other countries were affected one after another, so Chinese knives, forks and chopsticks spread to Central Asia and Europe.

As for why Europeans started using knives and forks, in fact, even Western scholars and experts do not know, so everyone can only infer and guess.

Some people believe that the use of knives and forks in Europe can be estimated to the 10th century AD, which is the period of the Byzantine Empire, and some people believe that it was the 15th century.

Western historian Rhea Tannerhill said: Forks were first used in the Near East for many years, but only as kitchen utensils. The widespread use of forks as tableware began in the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. During this period, Byzantium was at the node 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 and forks and chopsticks.

As soon as the knife and fork were introduced to Europe, they were discriminated against and rejected. At that time, the Church of England opposed eating with a knife and fork, thinking that food was a gift from God for the benefit of mankind, and not touching food with fingers was an arrogance and insult to God. Medieval German missionaries even denounced forks as "the devil's luxury goods", saying, "If God wanted us to use this tool, he would not have given us fingers."

But after all, eating with knives and forks and chopsticks is much more civilized than eating with hands. Slowly, European courts began to accept eating with knives and forks.

King Charles V of France vigorously promoted knives and forks. His court displayed gold forks and silver forks, and marked "use when eating mulberry or food that is easy to dirty hands".

The introduction of the fork is also a sign that the Western diet has entered the civilized era. Due to the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe in the late Middle Ages, the population dropped sharply, and the 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. Of course, knives and forks are more popular than chopsticks.

Furthermore, the European cooking methods in the past were also very simple and crude. There were only three simple methods of stewing, boiling, and baking, and there was no need for tableware such as chopsticks.

The backward food culture and methods make Europe only choose knives and forks instead of chopsticks.

Speaking of this, in fact, to sum up, the knives and forks they use are actually poor, backward, and primitive products, and they are not high-end things at all. To put it bluntly, those guys who worship foreigners don't think that knives and forks are noble, but they just knelt down after being beaten and couldn't stand up.

After all, in the two hundred years of modern times, the West rose rapidly through industry, defeated the East, and destroyed the self-confidence of the Chinese people. They believed that the culture and way of life of the West were superior to their own culture, but they used knives and forks as a fashion, but they didn’t know it. It is a rotten thing that the ancestors detested.

But it’s okay for ordinary people not to understand, why are luxury brands so ignorant? Do they think that China is now the same as it was back then? Do they want to refer to a stag as a horse? How ignorant..."

Hong Haier immediately followed up and said, "Yes, that's a bunch of idiots!"