第169期：筷子简史

想成为我们的主播，欢迎加微信 xdfbook 投稿。 一段美文，一首英文歌，或是一点生活感想，全由你做主。 《筷子简史》 A Brief History of Chopsticks There’s a set of utensils ) used by billions of people around the world—and it has a truly ancient past. The Chinese have been using chopsticks since at least 1200 B.C., and by A.D. 500 the slender ) sticks had swept the Asian continent from Vietnam to Japan. From their humble beginnings as cooking utensils to paper-wrapped bamboo sets at the sushi counter, there’s more to chopsticks than meets the eye ). The legendary ruins of Yin, in Henan province, provided not only the earliest examples of Chinese writing but also the first known chopsticks—bronze sets found in tombs at the site. Capable of reaching deep into boiling pots of water or oil, early chopsticks were used mainly for cooking. It wasn’t until A.D. 400 that people began eating with the utensils. This happened when a population boom across China sapped ) resources and forced cooks to develop cost-saving habits. They began chopping food into smaller pieces that required less cooking fuel—and happened to be perfect for the tweezers )-like grip of chopsticks. As food became bite-sized, knives became more or less out of date. Their decline—and chopsticks’ ascent—also came because of Confucius. As a vegetarian, he believed that sharp utensils at the dinner table would remind eaters of the slaughterhouse ). He also thought that knives’ sharp points evoked ) violence and warfare, killing the happy, contended mood that should reign during meals. Thanks in part to his teachings, chopstick use quickly became widespread throughout Asia. Different cultures adopted different chopstick styles. Perhaps in a nod to Confucius, Chinese chopsticks featured a blunt ) rather than pointed end. In Japan, chopsticks were 8 inches long for men and 7 inches long for women. In 1878 the Japanese became the first to create the now-ubiquitous ) disposable ) set, typically made of bamboo or wood. Wealthy diners could eat with ivory, jade, coral, brass or agate ) versions, while the most privileged used silver sets. It was believed that the silver would corrode ) and turn black if it came into contact with poisoned food. Throughout history, chopsticks have enjoyed a symbiotic ) relationship with another staple ) of Asian cuisine ): rice. Naturally, eating with chopsticks lends itself to ) some types of food more than others. At first glance, you’d think that rice wouldn’t make the cut ), but in Asia most rice is of the short- or medium-grain variety. The starches ) in these rices create a cooked product that is gummy and clumpy, unlike the fluffy ) and distinct grains of Western long-grain rice. As chopsticks come together to lift steaming bundles of sticky rice, it’s a match made in heaven. 有一套餐具在全球有数十亿的使用者，而且它还有着真正古老的过去。中国人最晚在公元前1200年就开始使用筷子了。到公元500年的时候，纤细的筷子已经风靡整个亚洲大陆，从越南到日本都有。从起初不起眼的厨具变成如今寿司桌上摆放在纸袋里的竹筷，筷子可没有看上去那么简单。 举世闻名的河南殷墟不仅出土过最早的汉字范例(编注：指甲骨文)，还挖掘出已知的最早的筷子——这是一双青铜筷，埋于此处的墓穴里。早期的筷子可以探进沸腾的水锅或油锅深处，主要当作厨具使用。直到公元400年，人们才开始使用筷子来吃饭。这一改变发生的时候，正值华夏大地人口暴涨，资源损耗变大，迫使做饭的人养成省吃俭用的习惯。他们开始将食物切得更小，以便节省燃料，而小块的食物刚好非常适合筷子镊子式的夹取方式。 随着食物变成易于入口的小块，刀具就多少显得有些过时。伴随着筷子的兴起，刀具开始没落，这也跟孔子有关。作为一个素食者，孔子认为饭桌上的锋利餐具会让吃饭的人想起屠宰场。他还认为，刀具的尖头会唤起暴力和战争的联想，破坏进餐时应有的怡然自足。在一定程度上，当时多亏了孔子的教诲，用筷子吃饭才迅速传遍亚洲。 文化不同，所采用的筷子的风格也不同。或许是为了向孔子表示敬意，中国的筷子端头是钝的而不是尖的。在日本，男性的筷子长8英寸，而女性的筷子长7英寸。1878年，日本第一个发明一次性筷子，这种筷子一般由竹子或木头制成，如今无处不在。有钱人吃饭时可能会用象牙筷、玉筷、珊瑚筷、铜筷或玛瑙筷，而最为位高权重的人则用银筷。据说，银筷接触到带毒的食物会腐蚀变黑。 纵观整个历史，筷子总是与亚洲菜系的另一种主食大米相伴左右。自然，有一些食物会比其他食物更适合用筷子吃。乍看起来，你会觉得大米不会位于其列，但亚洲的大米多是短粒或中粒米，这类大米里的淀粉使得做好的米饭粘成块状，不像西方的长粒米那样米粒蓬松、颗粒分明。用两只筷子去夹起一团热腾腾、黏乎乎的米饭，两者简直就是绝配。 文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年11月号