筷子，可以说是中国人的一项独特发明。它轻巧灵活，有挑、拨、夹、拌、扒等功能，在世界各国的餐具中别具一格，被西方人誉为“东方的文明”。 中国是筷子的发源地，以筷进餐已有三千多年历史。
Chopsticks are a special invention of the Chinese people. Simple and handy, they are unique among all the tableware found throughout the world with such functions as poking, turning, stirring, chopping, and picking up food. It is called “a civilization of the East” by Westerners. Chopsticks were invented by the Chinese and have been used as traditional tableware for more than three thousand years.
筷子的由来有很多种说法，其中一个说法还和“大禹治水”有关呢。相传尧舜时代，洪水泛滥成灾，舜命令禹去治理水患。大禹发誓要为人民清除洪水灾害，所以三过家门而不入。他日日夜夜忙碌着，别说休息，就是吃饭、睡觉也舍不得耽误一分一秒。有一次，大禹乘船来到一个岛上，非常饥饿，他就架起陶锅煮肉。可是肉煮熟后，由于太烫手无法用手拿着吃，如果等肉凉了再吃又会耽误时间。大禹不愿浪费治水的时间，所以就砍下两根树枝把肉从热汤中夹出，吃了起来。从此，为了节约时间，他总是这样吃饭。其他人见他这样吃饭，既不烫手，又不会使手上沾染油腻，于是纷纷效仿，就这样渐渐形成了筷子的雏形。 经过几千年的发展，我们现在使用的筷子还带有原始竹木棍棒的特征。
There are many different tales of the origin of chopsticks, one of which is related to Dayu, a legendary figure who tamed floods. It is said that there were ravaging floods which caused serious damage during the reign of Yao and Shun, who therefore sent Dayu on a mission to control the floods. Dayu swore to complete his task successfully and relieve his people from the threat of floods. During his mission, he passed by his own house three times, but each time he did not go back in. He begrudged every minute he had to spend on rest and sleep. One day, he came to an island by boat feeling very hungry. He began to cook meat in an earthenware crock. When the meat was done, it was too hot to eat it with his hands, but it would take too much time to wait for the meat to cool off. Dayu couldn’t bear to lose time, so he chopped off two branches from a tree and used them to pick up the meat from the crock. From then on, he ate with two branches in order to save time. Seeing that eating this way prevented one’s hands from getting burnt or becoming greasy, people began to copy his use of tree branches. It was in this way that the initial form of chopsticks was developed. The chopsticks we use today still have the characteristics of the original wood sticks.
日本和韩国也使用筷子，但是与中国的筷子不同。这主要是由进餐方式和食物的不同造成的。中国是合餐制，几个人在同一张大桌子上吃饭，而日本和韩国都是分餐制，吃饭的时候每人一份。为了取食方便，中国的筷子比较长，日本和韩国的则比较短。中国和日本的筷子大多是竹制和木制的，而韩国的烧烤食品比较多，所以他们使用金属筷子。
Chopsticks are also used in Japan and Korea, but differ from those used in China. The Chinese people are used to sitting around the table and eating from the same dishes, but the Japanese and the Koreans usually divide the food into individual shares. Therefore, Chinese chopsticks are longer so that people can reach for food easily, while Japanese and Korean chopsticks are shorter. Chinese and Japanese chopsticks are usually wooden, but the Koreans use metal chopsticks since they barbecue more often.
