Divine Lucky Star
Chapter 334 - Chapter 334 Chapter 334 Chopstick Culture

Chapter 334: Chapter 334 Chopstick Culture Chapter 334: Chapter 334 Chopstick Culture “Yin and Yang Eight Diagram,” Chris touched her lips with her fingers and laughed, “This question can’t stump me. In the Zhou Yi there are the Eight Trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui; as well as the hidden Eight Trigrams: Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, Kai.” After listing them, she said proudly, “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Holy shit, this chick even knows this stuff?!

Zhao Zhenhao and Fang Wenbin were both dumbstruck; such an opponent was not easy to challenge. This was just too difficult, wasn’t it?

In the WeChat group–

Zhao Zhenhao: “Crap, we’re in trouble now!” Even the usually graceful Zhao Zhenhao was cursing…

Fang Wenbin: “This is a real mess! This girl can even answer this!”

Bai Yaning: “Hurry up and research to help!”

The three of them started looking up information, but before they had finished, Wang Hao was already smiling and saying, “Miss Chris does indeed have profound knowledge. Since Miss Chris knows about the Yin and Yang Eight Diagram, it will be much easier for me to explain.” As Wang Hao said this, he suddenly asked, “By the way, Miss Chris, if you were at a restaurant and wanted chopsticks, how would you say it?”

Zhao Zhenhao and the others exchanged glances, did Brother Hao really know?

But what was this new question he asked about?

Everyone at the table was looking at Wang Hao and then at Chris. The young girl didn’t understand what Wang Hao meant, but after thinking it over she said, “I would say: ‘Take two chopsticks!'”

“Okay,” Wang Hao nodded with a smile, but didn’t explain what the question meant. Instead, he continued with a smile, “We in the Heavenly People’s Republic have a history of five thousand years, and actually, chopsticks are just a small part of our cultural heritage,” he first praised his own country, then said, “Now let me tell you what real Chinese chopsticks are all about!”

With that, he picked up the chopsticks on the table and gestured, laughing, “Actually, these restaurant chopsticks are quite crude, barely usable, but still not the authentic chopsticks handed down by our ancestors. Firstly, chopsticks are round at one end and square at the other. The round represents the heavens, and the square represents the earth, corresponding to the ancient Heavenly Country people’s understanding of the basic principle of the world being round and the earth being square. Miss Chris, have you heard of this concept?”

“Yes, I know,” Chris nodded, “Please continue.”

“It’s indeed much easier to explain to someone who understands,” Wang Hao said with a smile, “When we hold chopsticks, the thumb and index finger are on top, the ring finger and little finger are below, with the middle finger in the middle, signifying the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and man, which reflects the ancient Heavenly Country people’s understanding of the relationship between humans and the world. Moreover, we, the Heavenly Country people, follow the principles of Taiji and Yin and Yang. Taiji is one, Yin and Yang are two; from one comes two, which represents how everything in the world is composed of two opposing elements; merging the two becomes one; this combination of Yin and Yang also signifies a perfect outcome. Therefore, when calling a waiter to bring chopsticks in a restaurant, we generally say to take a pair. Many foreigners don’t understand this allusion, so they say to take two.”

The crowd all let out an “Oh!” and turned to look at Chris!

So that was the answer to the question Brother Hao had asked before!

Zhao Zhenhao and Fang Wenbin were smirking at each other–

Ha ha, what a slap in the face, ah, the poor girl is blushing, daring to challenge our Brother Hao, what use is it to understand our Heavenly Country’s culture so much? This is called knowing the fact but not the reason behind it!

“Is it that simple?” Chris pouted, “That doesn’t seem too special…”

“I haven’t finished yet,” Wang Hao said, shaking his head and smiling, “Miss Chris, as you mentioned before, in the Zhou Yi there are the Eight Trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui; and the hidden Eight Trigrams: Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, Kai. Chopsticks are two, which is ‘two’, and when related to the Eight Trigrams, it corresponds to the ‘Dui’ trigram, which means ‘mouth’. The chopsticks themselves are straight and long, corresponding to the ‘Xun’ trigram, which means ‘entry’. Combine them and it’s ‘mouth entry’, doesn’t that mean ‘eat’?”

The whole crowd was dumbfounded!

Damn, can you really link a pair of chopsticks to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams?!

Chris’s big blue eyes widened, her face full of disbelief as she stared at Wang Hao–was his question about whether I knew the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams really about this?

“When using chopsticks, one stick acts as the active one and the other as the passive; the active one represents Yang and the passive represents Yin, symbolizing the duality of existence,” Wang Hao clearly wasn’t finished as he said, “The standard length of chopsticks is seven inches and six fen, representing the seven emotions and six desires that distinguish humans from animals.” He said this and then lifted up the restaurant’s chopsticks, laughing, “That’s why I said these chopsticks don’t really count as standard chopsticks from the Heavenly People’s Republic. Of course, with the high customer turnover in restaurants, it’s understandable that such small details are hard to attend to.”

Holy shit, Brother Hao is really nailing this act–a perfect score!

Even Chris was gobsmacked–damn! Before today, she had been unbeatable, right? Zhao Zhenhao had brought in several classical literature masters, all of whom she dispatched with ease; but today, she seemed doomed. Sweet heavens!

Chris was so stunned she muttered, “I had no idea there were so many intricacies with chopsticks…”

“This is just a very small part,” clearly, Wang Hao wasn’t done yet as he started to explain fluently, “We Heavenly Country people have twelve taboos when it comes to using chopsticks.”

“The first is arranging chopsticks of uneven length on the table before or during a meal, which is incredibly ominous. It is commonly referred to as ‘three long two short,’ symbolizing death.”

Chris’s eyes widened in shock as she quickly asked, “Why?”

The rest of the group was equally curious–how could the use of chopsticks possibly relate to death?

“After someone in the Heavenly People’s Republic dies, they are placed in a coffin,” Wang Hao explained, “Before the coffin lid is put on, the coffin is composed of two short planks at the head and foot, and three long planks on the sides and bottom. The five planks together create the coffin in a ‘three long two short’ configuration, which is why it’s considered extremely unlucky.”

Everyone gasped in astonishment–could this really be a thing?!

“The second taboo is called ‘Pointing with Immortal’s Finger,'” Wang Hao continued, “This way of holding chopsticks is where you hold them with the thumb, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky, with the index finger sticking out. This practice is also extremely unacceptable. Pointing with the index finger while eating, continuously pointing at others, is considered the same as cursing. Another rude behavior is to talk to others while eating and pointing at them with chopsticks.”

“The third is called ‘Beggar Tapping his Bowl.’ It’s seen as a beggar asking for food and involves tapping your chopsticks against your bowl or plate during a meal. In the past, only beggars would strike their bowls with chopsticks, and such behavior is regarded as despicable.”

“The fourth is known as ‘Chopstick Flavor Tester,’ where one end of the chopstick is put in the mouth and sucked on back and forth while making a sipping noise. This act is seen as vulgar and suggestive of poor upbringing.”

“The fifth is called ‘Strolling with Chopsticks,’ where you hold chopsticks and rummage through the dishes on the table. Such behavior is a typical show of poor manners and extreme arrogance, making it very off-putting.”

“The sixth is ‘Grave-digging Chopsticks,’ constantly stirring the food in the dish with your chopsticks, which is very annoying.”

“The seventh is ‘Tears and Chopsticks Leave Pearls.'”

“The eighth is ‘Upturning Heaven and Earth.'”

“The ninth is ‘Dragon King’s Sea-Calming Needle.'”

“The tenth is ‘Crossing Crosses.'”

“The eleventh is ‘Public Incense Offering,’ for example, leaving by sticking a pair of chopsticks into the rice for convenience, which is seen as highly disrespectful. It’s like offering incense to the dead and is absolutely unacceptable.”

“The twelfth is ‘Dropping Chopsticks Shocks the Gods,’ which means accidentally dropping your chopsticks on the ground. This is very impolite. Since our ancestors rest beneath the ground, they should not be disturbed, and dropping chopsticks is akin to startling the ancestors underground, which is a major act of disrespect and, therefore, not allowable. However, this rule has become somewhat more relaxed now, not as strict as in ancient times.”

After Wang Hao finished speaking, the entire room was collectively dumbfounded!

Who could have imagined that so much consideration went into a pair of chopsticks! Not just the origin of chopsticks has its intricacies, but even their usage!

Chris was completely stunned by Wang Hao’s speech! She had actually also done some research about chopsticks before but could only cover the basics of round sky, square earth, Yin and Yang, and so on. Who could have thought that Wang Hao could speak of so much more?!

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