It was Da Yu, the founder of the Xia dynasty, who is said to have first used two sticks to eat his food in roughly 2100 BC.

筷子的起源大约在公元前2100年，夏朝的开国之君大禹据说是第一个使用两只棍子来吃饭的人。

It was an invention born of urgency. In his rush to reach a flood zone, Da Yu did not want to wait for his meat in his wok to cool, instead seizing a pair of twigs and wolfing down his meal.

筷子的诞生是因为时间紧迫，当时大禹赶着去治水，没时间等自己的食物凉下来，就直接拿起两根小细枝狼吞虎咽吃完了饭。

Chopsticks quickly became popular around Asia. However Chinese chopsticks are longer than their Korean and Japanese counterparts in order to reach the communal dishes in the centre of the table. Koreans also often use metal chopsticks because of their love of barbecue.

筷子很快在亚洲地区流行起来，不过中国人使用的筷子比韩国人和日本人使用的要长，因为需要夹到桌子中间的公菜。韩国人因为爱吃烧烤，所以也经常使用金属制的筷子。

The fork, meanwhile, is said to have been invented by the Romans, but did not become common in northern Europe until the 18th century.

而叉子则据说是由罗马人发明的，直到18实际才在北欧地区常用起来。

Today, however, China is chopping down 20 million mature trees a year to feed its disposable chopstick habit, according to Mr Bo.

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