South Korea is a country with a strong sense of culture, and in recent years, South Korea has even applied for some cultures with Chinese characteristics, such as the "Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival" being applied for by South Korea, the "Matsuri Kong Ceremony" and so on. On 5 December 2013, the United Nations Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage officially inscribed Korea's "Pickled Wintering Kimchi Culture" on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Although the korean application for heritage is different from that of our country, it is still controversial. But chopsticks used in a common use in Han cultural circles have a long history, so why hasn't South Korea applied for the chopsticks?
South Korea's unavoidable history
For the history of chopsticks, South Korea should know that the earliest originated from our country, our country has a long history of chopsticks, chopsticks in the pre-Qin period and called this name, but called "梜", in the Han Dynasty, the name was changed again, called "箸", until the Ming Dynasty was not called "chopsticks". Let's look at the historical evolution of chopsticks through historical materials.
There is a sentence in the "Han Feizi Yu Lao": "In the past, the people were like elephants, and the baskets were terrible." This sentence records the use of chopsticks by the King of Shang. The use of ivory as chopsticks was also a luxury practice in ancient times, so the chancellor Miko was worried when he saw the luxury of the king.
Of course, the chopsticks used by the King of Shang yi have also been found in archaeology. In the 1930s, the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province, unearthed bronze urns used in the late Shang Dynasty. In 1994, the Xianglu stone site in Changyang County, Hubei Province, unearthed a "bone reel" used by the Shang Dynasty. This is evidence of the use of chopsticks by the King of Sui.
In fact, the Shang Dynasty King also used chopsticks before, and in the 1990s, the Neolithic bone reeds found in Longqiuzhuang, Jiangsu Province, indicating that the history of chopsticks appeared earlier than the Shang King.
In the Han Dynasty, the chopstick material also changed, and the "bamboo basket" was used in the Western Han Dynasty, and the "copper spoon" was used in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was found in the Eastern Han cemetery.
The chopsticks of the Sui and Tang dynasties were made of a variety of materials, ranging from gold to precious metals, as well as jade, and even rhino horns made into chopsticks. But these are the aristocrats who have the right to make it. However, during this period, chopsticks have changed shapes, and some chopsticks have thin ends and thick middles, which is convenient for use at both ends.
After the chopsticks were renamed during the Ming Dynasty, Lu Rong wrote in the Miscellaneous Records of Shuyuan: "Folk customs are hidden everywhere, and Wuzhong (present-day Wu County, Jiangsu) is even more so. For example, the boat line is 'live' and 'turn', with '箸' as 'kuai'er', and 'hata' as 'rag'... This is all slang and ridiculous, and there are also people who are commonly known as 'fast children' nowadays. ”
Lu Rong's record restores the origin of the name "chopsticks", because the boatmen in jiangnan want to arrive both quickly and safely, so they are afraid to say "live", and "箸" and "live" are in the same place, some people call it "Kuai'er", and later add bamboo characters, so "chopsticks" got its name.
Li Yuheng also wrote in the "Pushing Tent Sayings": "There are also evil words and called beautiful characters, such as Standing Zhen Zhen, calling for fast children, and now because of the long circulation, even those who have been called chopsticks among scholars and doctors are also called chopsticks, and they are also called chopsticks."
During the Qing Dynasty, the name chopsticks were already formed and widely used. The 40th time in "Dream of the Red Chamber" writes: "Sister Feng and Mandarin Duck have agreed to take a pair of elderly four-lined ivory-encrusted chopsticks to Grandma Liu."
This is the historical evolution of chopsticks in Our country, and presumably Koreans should be very aware of the history of chopsticks.
Chopsticks are not unique to Korea
Chopsticks are also used in countries in the Han cultural circle, and the earliest imported country is North Korea, because Korea has always been a dynasty closely related to The Ancient Dynasty of China in ancient times, and it is also deeply influenced by the Han Cultural Circle. However, in addition to the popularity of chopsticks in North Korea, They are also used in countries with Chinese cultures such as Japan and South Korea, and have also spread to some countries in Southeast Asia.
It is said that chopsticks spread to Korea and were related to Miko, who brought some people to the Korean Peninsula after the fall of king Shang. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in Gaosi County, he also brought very Han scholars and officials and craftsmen with skills. Therefore, chopsticks are also widely used in the Korean Peninsula. During the Three Kingdoms period of Goryeo, Baekje, and Silla in ancient Korea, people here also used chopsticks.
The Japanese use chopsticks to pilaf by hand, and the Biography of Wei Zhi Andi records that Japan was "hand food" in ancient times. The japanese use of chopsticks was passed down from the Korean Peninsula to Japan, and the Japanese improved chopsticks, but they did not appear in a "pair" fashion as they do now, but they were not widely used at that time.
During the Kofun period in Japan, some Han Chinese from the Korean Peninsula traveled east to Japan, bringing chopsticks in addition to Han and Jin culture and technology. During the Sui Dynasty, Japan began to send people to the Sui Dynasty to study, and chopsticks were used in sacrificial activities. However, in the Nara period, Ono Meizi went to the Sui Dynasty and was served by the Central Plains using chopsticks to eat and drink. Later, when prince Shengde of Japan entertained our envoys, he used chopsticks to receive guests, and it was only at this time that the Japanese nobles began to use chopsticks and began to promote them among the commoners.
The popularity of Chopsticks in Japan was in the eighth century AD, when the Japanese were already widely used, because Of Japan was closely related to the Tang Dynasty, there were more cultural traditions from the Tang Dynasty, and at this time Japan called chopsticks "Tang Zhen".
Although ancient Korea and Japan used chopsticks, but Korean and Japanese chopsticks are slightly different from China, from the perspective of length, China's chopsticks are longer, Korean chopsticks are shorter than China's, and Japanese chopsticks are the shortest.
From the material point of view, Korea began to be made of metal in the ancient Three Kingdoms, the nobles used gold and silver chopsticks, and the people used iron chopsticks. Metal chopsticks are not easy to deform, and some experts believe that this is related to The Korean love of grilled meat. In Japan, wooden chopsticks are commonly used. Because of Japan's limited mineral resources, during the Edo period, Japanese chopsticks were also painted with color paint, which also became a gift.
Reasons why South Korea does not apply for heritage
Korean culture protection awareness is very strong, for chopsticks this ancient object, why does not South Korea apply for heritage? Obviously, Korea understands the ancient history of chopsticks in our country, and also understands how chopsticks were transmitted to Korea and applied.
Chopsticks are both a food tool, and a pair of chopsticks also condenses historical traditions. Even if the chopsticks in Korea and Japan are different in shape from Our country, but have the same origin and the same provenance, no one dares to deny the history of chopsticks in Our country.