After entering the bronze age, the Central Plains still inherited the tradition of eating with spoons in the Neolithic age. Not only did they continue to use bone spoons, but also copper spoons appeared. Since the emergence of copper smelting technology, spoons used for meals have also begun to be made of copper. In the bronze age, the bone spoon in the Central Plains was still a widely valued eating appliance. By the Western Zhou Dynasty, the use of bone spoon was not as common as in the past.

The first copper spoon appeared, and its shape was mostly modeled on the long bone spoon. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, a bronze spoon shaped dinner spoon has been popular in the Central Plains. This kind of spoon has a pointed leaf shape, and its handle is flat and relatively wide. Two spoon shaped bronze spoons were unearthed in a cellar in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province. Their age is relatively early among similar spoons. The handles of these two food spoons are decorated with geometric patterns, and the name of the owner is engraved on the spoon body, with an inscription named "dagger".

In the Warring States period, a kind of spoon with long handle and tongue shape appeared. In a Qin tomb in the early spring and Autumn Period in fulinbao, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, such a spoon was unearthed. Its handle is thin, and its body has been changed to an oval tongue shape. Narrow handle tongue shaped spoon, about in the late spring and Autumn period has been finalized and produced. Since the Warring States period, narrow handled tongue shaped spoons have become the mainstream form of ancient Chinese food spoons, which have been used for more than 2000 years. The Warring States period spoons also adopted lacquer wood technology, resulting in a beautiful lacquer wood dinner spoon. Like the bronze spoon, the lacquer wooden spoon is also shaped like a tongue shaped spoon with a narrow handle. It is painted as a whole and usually painted with exquisite geometric patterns.

In the song and Yuan Dynasties, in addition to a large number of copper spoons, there were also many spoons made of silver. During this period, the shape of the spoon basically inherited the tradition of the Tang Dynasty's thin handled tongue shaped spoon, with the only difference being that the handle tail was slightly widened. Later, with the diversified development of times and catering, the technological level gradually improved, and the spoon became more practical, more exquisite, and more diversified in shape.

Today, most spoons are mainly stainless steel.

The Legend:

According to Chinese legend:

• Empress Leizu was drinking tea under a mulberry tree when a silkworm cocoon fell into her cup.

• The hot water caused the cocoon to unravel into a long, delicate thread.

• She realized the thread could be woven into fabric and is said to have invented the silk loom to begin making garments.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Silkworm Rearing: Silkworms (specifically, the larvae of the Bombyx mori moth) were raised on trays, fed with fresh mulberry leaves. The silkworms' diet of mulberry leaves is crucial for the quality of the silk they produce. 

Cocoon Spinning: After about a month, the silkworms would spin their cocoons, using a single, incredibly long filament of silk. 

1. Cocoon Harvesting and Processing: The cocoons were harvested, and the pupae inside were killed, often by steaming or boiling, to prevent them from breaking out of the cocoon and damaging the silk. 

   Silk Extraction: The cocoons were then immersed in hot water to soften the sericin (a gummy substance that binds the silk fibers) and loosen the fibers. 

   Reeling and Spinning: The loose fibers were carefully reeled off the cocoons, often by hand, and then combined to create silk threads. 

   Weaving: The silk threads were then woven into cloth using looms.

    Finishing: The cloth was sometimes pounded to soften it further. 

This process, carefully refined over centuries, allowed the ancient Chinese to produce the luxurious silk that became highly sought after around the world. The secret of silk production was so closely guarded that it took a very long time for the techniques to spread outside of China

The Invention of Paper

The earliest scrap of paper still in existence, a crude material made mostly from hemp fiber found in a tomb in China in 1957, dates back to sometime between 140 and 87 B.C. But Cai Lun, a eunuch in the Han court in A.D. 105, is credited as the inventor of the first really high-quality writing paper, which he fashioned by crushing and combining tree bark, hemp, linen rags, and scraps from fishing nets and then treating the mixture with lye to break it down into finer fibers. Now, paper remains widely used for a variety of purposes, including packaging, printing, writing, and hygiene products.While some traditional uses like newspapers and books have seen a decline, the overall demand for paper is still significant, especially for packaging and tissue products. 

Today, printing is much faster and easier. We have big machines and printers that can print books, newspapers, photos, and even 3D objects. People also use small printers at home and school.