The appearance of the knife and fork is much later than the chopsticks. According to Professor Xiu Xiling's research, the original origin of the knife and fork is related to the living habits of ancient nomadic people in Europe. They immediately live with their knives and often cook the meat and cut it to eat. Later, after moving to settle down, Europe was dominated by animal husbandry, and bread and the like were non-staple foods, which were taken directly by hand. The staple food is beef and mutton. The meat is cut with a knife and sent to the import. After the city settles, the knife and fork enter the family kitchen, so you don't have to take it with you. It is not difficult to see that the knives and chopsticks used as the main tableware in the West today are very different. They are versatile and can be used to slaughter, dissect, and cut the meat of cattle and sheep. When cooked and edible, they also serve as tableware.

This is the history of the use of knives and forks in the West. In the East, the history of the use of knives and forks is much longer. Archaeological findings confirm that our ancestors began using the forks more than 4,000 years ago. Some bone forks were found in the Qijia Cultural Site in the northwest. They are three-toothed.

This kind of fork is very close to the shape of the western fork we use now, and the size is not too much. And it is worth noting that when the fork was unearthed, it was with the spoon and the bone knife, indicating that the fork, spoon and knife were three pieces. It is also very interesting, and it is the same as the tableware of Western food.

This fork is still in use after the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. It was also unearthed in some ruins and tombs of the Shang Dynasty. Especially in a tomb of the Warring States, there were many forks and more than 50 pieces. This was unearthed in Luoyang and placed together with bronzes.

After the Shang Dynasty, the fork changed to two teeth, which is not the same as the earliest three-toothed fork, which is relatively small.

After the Warring States, the Chinese forks were used: the Donghan copper fork was unearthed in Jiuquan, Gansu, and the Dongjin iron fork was unearthed in Guangdong. The fork of the Yuan Dynasty was unearthed in Gansu County, Gansu Province, and was unearthed with a knife. It was also unearthed in Jiaxiang, Shandong. The same knife and fork, as well as bamboo sheaths for the knife and fork.

Of course, after the Warring States period, the excavation of the knife and fork was significantly less, indicating that the use of the knife and fork is far less popular than the chopsticks.

Let's talk about the table knife. Many beautiful bone knifes were found in the Hemudu site in Zhejiang 7000 years ago. Archaeological discoveries, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States period, have popularized bronze spoon-shaped, pointed-leaf-shaped and long-handled tongue-shaped knife. The narrow-shank tongue-shaped knife has been used for more than 2,000 years from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The materials used are bronze, silver and gold.