中印文化迥异，体现在生活的方方面面，在海外问答网站Quora上，印度网友提问道：为什么中国人用筷子而不用手吃饭，筷子是怎样产生的？这引起各国网友的围观和热议，我们看看他们的回答。
问题：为什么中国人用筷子吃饭而不是用手？
美国专家肯尼斯•杰明的回答
China is a country that pays attention to etiquette and morality. They have a word "red tape". We can know that there are many rules in this country. How can they allow such barbaric eating as eating with bare hands?
中国是一个注重礼仪和德化的国家，他们有一个词，“繁文缛节”，可以知道这个国家的规矩特别多，他们怎么可能允许徒手进食这样野蛮的进食方式存在呢？
The earliest utensils similar to chopsticks appeared at least 4000 years ago, but some scholars believe that ancient humans may have used them as early as 9000 years ago. Chopsticks first appeared in China. At that time, they were only used for cooking. These early wooden sticks were most likely made of branches. Chopsticks were popular because they were very suitable for picking up and stirring deep pots filled with hot food and liquid, such as today's "wok", that is, the "cooking pot" in Cantonese.
最早出现类似筷子的器具至少是在4000年前，但一些学者认为可能早在9000年前就已经有古人类使用了。筷子最早出现在中国，当时仅用于烹饪，这些早期的木棍最有可能是由树枝制成的，筷子之所以得到普及，是因为它们非常适合捡拾和搅拌装满热烫食物和液体的深锅，比如今天的“炒锅”，也就是粤语中的“烹饪锅”。
However, chopsticks were not used as tableware until many years later. Over the centuries, the Chinese have used some of the same types of tableware as we use today - knives and spoons. It can be seen from the subsequent unearthed knives and forks and their evolution. As the main tableware, knives and forks were not gradually replaced by chopsticks until after the Warring States period.
然而，筷子直到很多年后才被用作餐具。几个世纪以来，中国人使用过一些与我们今天使用的相同类型的餐具——刀和勺子，从其后陆续出土的刀叉及演变可看出。刀叉作为主要的餐具，一直使用到战国以后，才逐渐被用作筷子替代。
The shift from knives to chopsticks began with a surge in population across China, which has made food and cooking fuel very scarce. Therefore, people began to cut food into small pieces, which can cook faster, which means they will use less fuel and avoid food waste to feed more people.
从刀子到筷子的转变始于中国各地的人口激增，这导致食物和烹饪燃料变得非常稀缺。因此，人们开始将食物切成小块，这样可以更快地烹饪，这意味着他们将使用更少的燃料，还可以避免食物浪费以喂养更多的人。
Chopsticks are used in many ways. They can be clamped, picked up, picked up and fished. They can be used in all kinds of food materials. Moreover, chopsticks have two additional advantages: they are cheap and easy to make.
筷子用法非常多，夹、捡、拾、挑、捞，可以用在各种食材上，而且筷子还有两个额外的优点：它们既便宜又容易制作。
The processing in the early kitchen also means that the table cutter becomes unnecessary because there is really nothing to cut.
前期厨房里的加工也意味着餐桌刀具变得不必要了，因为真的没什么可切的了。
Fork has never been used in China because its main purpose is to hold a large piece of food for cutting with a knife. In fact, as far as tableware is concerned, fork is a relatively new invention even in the western world. They didn't appear until the 10th century and didn't become popular until Catherine de'Medici introduced them to the French court in the early 16th century.
叉子在中国从未被采用，因为叉子的主要用途是拿着一大块食物以便用刀切割，事实上，就餐具而言，叉子甚至在西方世界也是一项相对较新的发明。它们直到10世纪才出现，直到16世纪初凯瑟琳·德·美第奇（Catherine de’Medici）将它们介绍给法国宫廷，才开始流行。
Another reason for switching to chopsticks is related to the Chinese use of lacquer ware. Blunt wooden sticks do not damage the surface of these plates like sharp metal knives. Lacquerware refers to daily utensils, handicrafts and art products made by painting on the surface of various utensils. Paint refers to the dry sap of some trees. After several layers are painted on wooden utensils, lacquerware will dry into a very hard and smooth surface layer, which is durable, waterproof and beautiful.
改用筷子的另一个原因与中国人使用漆器有关，钝木棍不会像锋利的金属刀那样损坏这些盘子的表面。漆器是指漆涂在各种器物的表面上所制成的日常器具及工艺品、美术品，漆是指某些树木的干树液，在木制器物上涂上几层，漆器会干燥成非常坚硬、光滑的表面层，耐用、防水、美观。
The disappearance of the dining knife at that time may also be related to Confucius' teaching. Confucius was not only a strict vegetarian, but also a teacher who emphasized social harmony and peace. He equated the use of knives with violence.
当时餐刀的消失也可能与孔子的教导有关。孔子不仅是一个严格的素食主义者，而且是一位强调社会和谐与和平的老师，他把使用刀子等同于暴力行为。
Knives are still needed in the kitchen, but Confucius said, "a gentleman is far from cooking." It can also provide some protection for Chinese chopsticks to become blunt and even explain why they can become blunt on the table.
厨房里仍然需要刀具，但孔子说，“君子远庖厨。”这也是为了防止餐桌上的争论变得激烈提供一些安全保障，甚至可以解释为什么中国筷子的尖部通常是钝的。
The reason why they are called "chopsticks" is also interesting, because the Chinese actually call them "kuaizo":
关于为何把它们称为“筷子”的原因也很有趣，因为中国人实际上称它们为“快子”：
The English word "chop pick" may come from China's Pidgin English. Pidgin English is a common language produced when the British do business with most Cantonese speaking Chinese people. Among them, "chop chop" means "fast". The Chinese name of chopsticks, kuaizi (Chinese: chopsticks), consists of many parts - one character (chopsticks) means "quick" and one word means "bambooo".
英语单词“choppick”可能源于中国的洋泾浜英语，洋泾浜英语作为英国人和大多数讲广东话的中国人做生意时产生的共通语，其中“chop chop”的意思是“迅速”。筷子的中文名称，快子（中文：筷子) 它由许多部分组成——一个字符(筷) 意思是“quick”(快), 还有一个字，意思是“bamboo”(竹)。
The story behind this answer: it began with an email to my children, The e-mail began: "a few nights ago, I was watching a foreign film (about the production of sake), in which the factory workers were eating with chopsticks. I remember trying to eat with chopsticks when I was a child, but maybe I was too stupid to learn. Until today, I can't believe that people can use two chopsticks so skillfully and quickly."
这个答案背后的故事：它始于一封给我孩子们的电子邮件，邮件开头是这样的：“前几天晚上，我在看一部外国电影（关于清酒的制作），里面的工厂工人在用筷子吃饭。我记得我小时候就试着用筷子吃饭，但可能是我太笨，终于没能学会，直到今天，我都不敢相信人们可以把两根筷子使用地这么灵巧和迅速。”
At that moment, curiosity conquered me. I began to wonder how and why chopsticks were invented. After all, it had such a far-reaching impact on the culture and folk customs of China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
在那一刻，好奇心征服了我，我开始想知道筷子是怎么发明的，为什么会发明，毕竟他对中日韩和东南亚地区的文化和民俗带来了如此深远的影响。
英国网友麦道克•威廉姆斯的回答
The reason is simple, easy to operate, simple to make, clean and hygienic. Here are my views on why chopsticks can be popularized in East Asia:
原因很简单，操作方便，制作简单，干净又卫生，以下是我对筷子为何可以在东亚普及的看法：
Knives and forks were originally small weapons on the table. In the middle ages, people would only pick up hunting knives and use them to cut meat, and then poke it up to eat. Obviously, such table manners would be disgusting, and people at that time might think, 'well, maybe there's something more effective than just using a knife', so there are today's knives and forks.
刀叉最初是餐桌上的小武器。在中世纪，人们只会拿起猎刀，然后用来切肉，然后把肉戳起来进食。显然，这样的餐桌礼仪会令人反感，当时的人们可能也会想，‘嗯，也许有什么东西比只用一把刀更有效’，所以才有了今天的刀叉。
In ancient China, people ate more vegetables and pasta. The people were poor and could not eat it several times a year. In Western food, there were a lot of meat dishes (such as roast beef).
而在古代中国，人们多吃菜和面食，人民贫苦，一年也吃不了几回，而在西餐中富有大量的肉类菜肴（比如烤牛肉）。
At the same time, fuels such as firewood are very scarce, and coal is not even regarded as a source of fuel. Therefore, people cut things into small pieces to increase the surface area that can be heated, reduce the use of fuel and help improve cooking efficiency.
同时木柴等燃料都非常稀缺，煤甚至不被视为燃料来源。因此人们把东西切成小块，以增加可以加热的表面积，减少燃料的使用，有助于提高烹饪效率。
It's not wise to eat fried vegetables with a knife! If you think about it, chopsticks are basically a pair of separate pliers. They work through a lever mechanism and are very suitable for Chinese dishes.
用刀吃炒菜并不明智！如果你仔细想想，筷子基本上就是一对分开的钳子，它们通过杠杆机制工作，非常适合中式菜肴。
Interestingly, chopsticks have not been used as a tool for eating for hundreds of years - they were originally used to stir / select food in a frying pan, but they replaced knives when people realized that chopsticks were more suitable for porcelain than other tableware.
有趣的是，几百年来，筷子一直没有被用作吃饭的工具——它们最初是用来在炒锅里搅拌/挑选食物的，但当人们意识到筷子比其他餐具更适合瓷器时，它取代了刀的使用。
The first mention of chopsticks (for eating) was in Han Feizi about 300 BC, although the use of chopsticks existed before the Shang Dynasty (about 2000 BC). Therefore, there may be a time when Chinese people use knives and chopsticks at the same time, but eventually the former stays in the kitchen and the latter on the table.
第一次提到筷子（用于吃饭）是在约公元前300年的《韩非子》中，尽管筷子的使用在商朝（约公元前2000年）之前就已经存在。因此，可能有一段时间，中国人同时使用刀和筷子，但最终前者留在厨房，而后者放在了餐桌上。
日本网友Reza日则的回答
It may be because the cultural traditions of the two countries are different. Indians believe that food is given by God and it is glorious to eat by hand. Moreover, Indian food is mostly paste, which is more convenient to use hands. But it's not that China doesn't have hand-made rice. For example, it's a delicacy in Xinjiang. The origin of chopsticks has a long history.
可能是因为两国的文化传统不一样，印度人认为食物是神赐予的，用手进食是光荣的，而且印度食物多是糊状的，用手比较方便。但中国也不是没有手抓饭，比如在新疆就是一道美食。而筷子的由来，历史很悠久。
According to archaeological evidence, ancient Chinese in Hemudu period may have begun to eat with primitive chopsticks because they invented the pot, in which they began to cook hot stews and eat together.
根据考古学证据，河姆渡时期的古代中国人可能就已经开始使用原始筷子吃饭了，因为他们发明了锅，在锅里他们开始煮热炖菜，共同食用。
In order to keep a distance from hot food, people began to use branches, which later became chopsticks. Chopsticks can basically look at the extension of the fingers used to grasp food. With the progress of civilization, tableware (chopsticks, spoons, and finally knives) has become the mainstream of tableware.
为了和烫热的食物保持距离，人们开始使用树枝，树枝后来变成了筷子。筷子基本上可以看作用来抓食物的手指的延伸。随着文明的进步，餐具（筷子、勺子，最后是刀）成为餐桌使用器具的主流。
In Asia, table manners have become more elegant, in part because of the stability of the "chopsticks culture" and the resulting cooking.
在亚洲，餐桌礼仪变得更加优雅，部分原因是“筷子文化”的稳定性以及由此演变而来的烹饪。
There is the same archaeological evidence in Japan, where the chopstick culture comes from the European continent. The earliest evidence of the use of chopsticks in Japan is also related to the use of large cooking containers. There are traces that they were used on fire. Donabe's ancestors are still used in Japanese hot pot.
日本也有同样的考古证据，那里的筷子文化来自欧洲大陆。日本筷子的最早使用证据也与大型烹饪容器的使用有关，有痕迹表明它们是在火上使用的，多纳贝的祖先至今仍用于日本火锅。
People believe that choosing to grow short grain rice instead of long grain rice is directly related to the way the Japanese use chopsticks and bowls. They don't eat with chopsticks and bowls close to their mouth like the Chinese, because Shinto beliefs oppose it.
人们认为，选择种植短粒大米而不是长粒大米与日本人使用筷子和碗的方式直接相关，他们不像中国人那样让筷子和碗靠近嘴巴扒饭进食，因为神道教信仰反对这样做。
In a later period, the ancient Japanese used multiple separate bowls and plates to eat, rather than the form of multiple people eating a plate of food. Unlike ancient China, spoons are rarely used for eating except in the kitchen, because the Japanese have long used small bowls as cups to drink soup. Later, the use of exquisite chopsticks facilitated the invention and use of more and more exquisite wooden bowls and lacquerware.
在后来的一个时期，古代日本人使用多个单独的碗和盘子吃饭，而不是多人共食一盘饭菜的形式。与古代中国不同，汤匙除了在厨房里外几乎不用于进食，因为日本人很早就采用了用小碗当杯子来饮用汤体的做法。后来，精致筷子的使用为越来越多的精致木碗、漆器等的发明和使用提供了便利。
Chopsticks have a direct impact on the aesthetics of Japanese cuisine, because unlike forks or direct hands, chopsticks allow chefs to accurately arrange food, while diners can elegantly lift carefully arranged food, such as sushi.
筷子直接影响了日本料理的美学，因为与叉子或者直接用手不同，筷子允许厨师精准地安排食物，而用餐者可以优雅地举起精心安排的食物，如寿司。
In the west, it was not until the Renaissance that the fork gradually replaced the tip of the knife as the tableware on the table. It was not until the palace of Versailles that table manners evolved into a complete etiquette.
在西方，直到文艺复兴时期，叉子才逐渐取代刀尖成为餐桌上的餐具，直到凡尔赛宫，餐桌礼仪才演变成一套完整的礼仪。
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