As the human civilized product, chopsticks and knives and forks show their own dietary and social culture. Analyzed from the shapes, the using methods, the materials and the food that chopsticks and knives and forks used to, they also have their own characteristics and meanings. The eastern and western food habits, living styles, national characteristics that the two signs represent have obvious cultural differences.
1 Cultural differences from the shapes
The two ends of Chinese chopsticks are different. The top end is thick and square while the other end is thin and round. This design ensures that the chopsticks can be stable when set on the table and the round end will not hurt the tongue and lips while being used. The craft process of chopsticks roughly goes through more than ten procedures. The texture is richly diversiform, round, square, six arrises, eight arrises and serratula etc. What is more, shapes, sizes and thicknesses are also different. The most common style of chopsticks is the type of square hand-end and round entry-end. The basic shape is related to modeling preference of oriental tradition. Square and round are the basic forms for the Chinese nation, among which the model of merger “style” of square and round reveals the basic preferential shape and aesthetics of labor people. “In the traditional Chinese culture，there is cosmic philosophy of ‘square sky and round earth’ and life philosophy of ‘integration of heaven and earth’ (熊群花, 225).” In Chinese people’s minds, the universe and human is a model of square and round unity. Therefore, the basic model of chopsticks is applicable, scientific and aesthetic.
The style features of chopsticks are just the same as the characteristics of Chinese, who are brave, diligent and upright, but also know how to yield.
The usage of knives and forks can well illustrate the characteristics of the western, who want to facilitate things in full usage and cut things to find what is inside. People of this characteristic are used to knives and forks, which are used to cut stick beef, turkey and lobster. When we use this kind of cutlery to analyze the character of westerners, we can discover that this persistent cutting embodies their long-term struggle.
2 Cultural differences from the using methods
How to use chopsticks? Perch chopsticks between the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, so they are parallel to each other. The lower chopstick rests on the inside tip of the ring finger, which keeps it stationary, while the thumb, index and middle fingers maneuver the upper chopstick in a pincer movement to pick up the food. In China chopsticks are always used in pairs. If only one chopstick is used, almost nothing can be achieved. Things will go totally different with two chopsticks, which can be done accurately and easily. No matter the food is blocks, pieces, dices or segments, the chopsticks can perfectly execute the duty. Actually, it embodies the traditional Chinese culture in the aspect of unity. By traditional Chinese culture, the world is united, harmonious and changeable. However, this kind of change has its own rules of “Ying and Yang”, which means “Negative and positive sides”. The Chinese ancestors consider that all the things and people in the universe are related. Things can not get their beings alone. Only Ying or Yang can not exist.
While the westerners hold a fork in the left hand, tightly pinning a chunk of underdone food, and catch a knife in the right hand, cutting food which is pinned by the fork into small pieces and then send the carved food into their mouths. This reflects the western culture – focusing on distinction. “Ancient Westerners think that the universe is the existence of space, in which everything is divisible, isolated and opposites (张吴湖,69).” Westerners believe that human beings are also the existence of isolated individuals who are self-sufficient and self-reliance, but at the same time, human beings are independent and have their own dignity. There is a schism between human beings and nature. People want to explore, acknowledge and conquer nature. On this basis, western culture is characterized by individualism and liberalism, with science and culture as contrary flexure.
Based on this, the Chinese culture is featured by idealism and integration, led by ethic. Therefore, the ideal of collectivism is formed. Chinese culture has indicated the characteristics of holism and moral and ideal ideology, taking ethics as its cultural guide, in the course of which it has developed a collectivism nation, and the highest idea of the country.
Contrary to it, western culture has indicated the characteristics of individualism and liberalism, taking scientific culture as its guide.
3 Cultural differences from the materials
The fact that Chopsticks are a major tableware in China is an inevitable choice of ancient Oriental under special circumstances. In the very beginning, chopsticks were made of bamboos or branches. As woods were abundant in the north and bamboos in the south, our ancestors used local materials, thus bamboos or woods became the most primitive materials of chopsticks.
As we all know that knives and forks are actually extensions of our hands. Their textures are generally metals. There are many processes of machining from choosing materials to polishing. This is the vivid proof of the fact that the rapid development of science and technology after the western industrial revolution is a vital reason for the population of a knife and fork.
According to the material differences of chopsticks and knife and fork, Chinese people and western people are of different personalities. In the aspect of cultural behavior, westerners like adventuring, pioneering and conflict, but Chinese people live contently in one place with little inclination to move elsewhere, keep in one’s place, mild and calm. Certainly, just as American was in western development, they cast the entire wealth into the car, and take the road to adventure. However, Chinese people have kept the idea of “family” and “root” in mind all the way. The idea of “falling leaves settling on the roots” has closely linked with the material of chopsticks.
In west countries, people have a quick and nervous life. The mechanization of life led to the oneness of diet. People attach more attention to the fast and convenient dietary patterns rather than the taste of the food. KFC and McDonald's are undoubtedly the most representatives of western fast food. Relatively speaking, the Chinese life rhythm is not as quick as westerners’. Most Chinese people like to sit together with family or friends and enjoy the food. Additionally, due to the influence of Taoism, Chinese people advocate mild food, they pursuit the peaceful and interesting life style. In China, diet is not just for survival. For many Chinese people, having meals are no longer merely to feed the physiological needs, but to satisfy people's spiritual joviality and to taste flavor of life.
4 Cultural differences from the food that chopsticks and knives and forks used to
Roland Battle has such a description about chopsticks in the imperial symbols: "Food is no longer prey under the violence, but is a harmony of the material to be sent (Bian Haoyu, 32)." Their containing and connotation is obvious from their gentle using of chopsticks. Mr. Cai Yuanpei made following comments on chopsticks as well as knifes and forks: “In ancient times, China has used knives and forks to eat too. However, China is a peace-loving nation. Chinese always feel that knifes and forks are weapons, and using them to eat is undignified (金圣角, 89).” Therefore, as early as in Zhou Dynasty, Chinese began to use chopsticks to eat and this tradition is passing down from one generation to another generation until now. What’s more, Chinese feel proud of using chopsticks. Chinese are the real followers of Great Harmony. “Under the influence of Confucianism, the moderation seized Yasuhisa character has become part of the Chinese nation, and formed a focus on reality, advocates introspection and Xiao Jue grasped the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture (蔡德贵, 5).”
Westerners use knives and forks at the table in order to cut the meat which is not completely cooked, indeed making people feel a kind of a tyrannical and insolent with knives and forks. But Easterners cook meat completely in the kitchen and then serve it to the table.
