An Introduction

Chopsticks. Chopsticks. Chopsticks. Have you wondered why the chopsticks came to be? Why many of the East Asian countries just had to invent the utensil called chopsticks? The reason why you have to hold these two pieces of stick which seem so complicated to hold but yet so simple? Ahh…but the answer is simple and can be found right here in this very article you behold! So read on and let your curiosity be satisfied.

It had all began in China about 3000 years ago. It was a pair of small even-length tapered sticks which spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Most commonly made out of bamboo, but was also often found to be made out of wood, metal, bone, ivory, porcelain, agate, jade and now, plastic. Sometimes the chopsticks were even made out of silver for the Chinese royal palace to detect poison in a royalty’s meal.

The Chopstick’s History

The reason of the chopsticks becoming such a popular instrument stems essentially from philosophical reasons. Being that, mealtimes are considered as events which promote social harmony, it was therefore deemed inappropriate for any implement designed to stab and cut (such as a knife) to be used at the dining table, as such moves were associated with violence. So, for this reason the Chinese rarely do have chopsticks that end with a sharp pointy tip.

It was recorded in Liji (The Book of Rites) that chopsticks were used in the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1100 BC). It was mentioned in Shiji (the Chinese history book) by Sima Qian (about 145 BC) that Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty (around 1100 BC), used ivory chopsticks. Experts believed the history of wood or bamboo chopsticks can be dated to about 1,000 years earlier than ivory chopsticks. Bronze chopsticks were invented in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC - 771 BC). Lacquer chopsticks from the Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) were discovered in Mawangdui, China. Gold and silver chopsticks became popular in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). It was believed that silver chopsticks could detect poisons in food.

Usage

Held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand, chopsticks are used as tongs to take up portions of the food, which is brought to the table cut up into small and convenient pieces, or (except in Korea) as means for sweeping the rice and small particles of food into the mouth from the bowl. Many rules of etiquette govern the proper conduct of the chopsticks. Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand only, even by the left-handed. It was then thought that using the left hand as a sign of bad etiquette and improper. Today, however, those thoughts have changed significantly. Chopsticks may now often be found in either hand, although some still consider left-handed chopstick use as improper etiquette.

Chopsticks are simple in design: merely two thin rods (top and bottom area smaller than one square centimeter, length varies), each slightly tapered. The smaller, round ends come in contact with the food. Mastery requires some practice. In chopstick-using cultures, food is generally made into small pieces. Also, rice in East Asia is often prepared to be sticky, which leads to "clumping" of the rice conducive to eating with chopsticks, while rice prepared using Western methods tend to be "fluffy", and is particularly difficult to eat with chopsticks. The stickiness also depends on the cultivar of rice; the cultivar used in the chopstick countries tends to be japonica, which is stickier than indica, a cultivar used in curries.

In some cultures, children learn to use chopsticks as a utensil in their later years. While in China and several of its neighboring countries, a child usually has gained the ability to eat all the rice in a rice bowl by the age of three.

For Beginners

Although chopsticks have become quite popular these days among the western population, it does not mean that everyone knows how to use these utensils. Here below you will find instructions on them so next time when you go to some East Asian restaurant you won’t have to feel embarrassed using a fork, spoon, or knife. LOL!

1. Put one chopstick between the palm and the base of the thumb, using the ring finger (the fourth finger) to support the lower part of the stick. With the thumb, squeeze the stick down while the ring finger pushes it up. The stick should be stationary and very stable.

2. Use the tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers to hold the other stick like a pen. Make sure the tips of the two sticks line up.

3. Pivot the upper stick up and down towards the stationary lower stick. With this motion one can pick up food of surprising size.

4. With enough practice, the two sticks function like a pair of pincers.

Another “description” on the usage of the chopsticks is to tuck one stick under the thumb and hold the other as if it was a pencil. Keep the one below the other in regular position as you move only the top stick up and down.

Tip: For easier handling in the beginning, hold the sticks at the midpoint as a child would do. As proficiency increases, hold the sticks at the upper ends for a farther reach and greater carrying capacity. Make sure you handle both sticks at least 3 1/2 inches away from the tip and 1 3/4 of an inch spaced away from both sticks.

If the tips fail to line up, it will be difficult to hold things. Hold the chopsticks upright with one of the tips lightly touching the table, and gently push the chopsticks down or gently loosen your grip for a moment to let both tips become equal in length. You can also adjust your grip or holding position this way.

With practice, it is possible to perform step one and two simultaneously, on picking up the chopsticks with one hand, with a single fluid and seamless motion. Read adjust your grip if necessary.

Etiquette

The etiquette of chopsticks today is not as strict as it once was. So you won’t have to follow these rules. But they are after all interesting.

General

• Never wave your chopsticks around as if it was an extension of your hand gestures, bang them like drumsticks, or use them to move bowls or plates.
• Decide what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks (do not hover around or poke looking for special ingredients). After you have picked up an item, do not put it back in the dish.
• When picking up a piece of food, never use the tips of your chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. However, this kind of stabbing maneuver is common in informal use for hard to pick up items like cherry tomatoes or tearing apart larger things like kimchi.
• Never, ever erect chopsticks point-first in a bowl of rice or an entrée. This is reminiscent of giving ancestral offerings to the dead, and is considered taboo at the table.
• Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on one's plate or bowl to keep them off the table entirely. A chopstick stand can also be used to keep the points off the table.
• In Chinese culture, it is normal to have your lips touching the edge of the rice bowl and using chopsticks to push rice directly into the mouth. In Korean culture, it is rude to pick the rice bowl off of the table and eat from it.
• In Chinese and Japanese etiquette, the blunt end is sometimes used to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl (never your mouth). In Korea, the blunt handle end is not considered sanitary.

Chinese

• While using chopsticks to pick up food, the palm of your hand should face down at all times. Twisting your chopsticks — holding the wrist in such a way that everyone can see your palm — is considered unrefined in Chinese culture.
• Chinese traditionally eat rice from a bowl. The rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks. If rice is served on a plate, as is more common in the West, it is acceptable and more practical to eat it with a fork or spoon.
• A set of chopsticks are one of the wedding gifts normally presented to Chinese newlyweds as the Chinese words for "chopsticks" and "soon son" are near-homophones.
• It is acceptable to transfer food to people who have a close relation with you (e.g. parents, grandparents, children or significant others) if you noticed they are having difficulty picking up the food. Also it is a sign of respect to pass food to the elderly first before the dinner starts (part of the Confucian tradition of respecting seniors).
• Never place your chopsticks on rice facing upwards. Any stick-like object facing upward resembles the incense sticks that Chinese use as offerings to deceased family members.
• When communal chopsticks are supplied with shared plates of food, it is considered impolite to use your own chopsticks to pick up the food from the shared plate or eat using the communal chopsticks.

Japanese

• Never use chopsticks to transfer something to someone else's chopsticks or someone else's plate or bowl. This is how bones are passed as part of funeral rites.
• Always place the pointed ends of the chopsticks on a chopstick rest when the chopsticks are not being used.

Korean

• Unlike other chopstick cultures, Koreans use a spoon (traditionally, relatively flat, circular head with straight stick handle, unlike the Chinese soup spoon and similar to the Western spoon) for their rice and soup, and chopsticks for most other things at the table.
• Do not pick up the rice or food bowls and eat from them. Unlike Chinese rice, Korean steamed rice can be easily picked up with chopsticks, although eating rice with a spoon is more acceptable.

Vietnamese

• As with Chinese etiquette, the rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice is pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks.
• Unlike with Chinese dishes, it is also practical to use chopsticks to pick up rice in plates, such as fried rice, because Vietnamese rice is typically sticky.
• It is proper to always be using two chopsticks at once, even when used for stirring.

A Conclusion

Funny how the chopsticks has come to be today. With little restrictions in the usage of chopsticks, many people are after all ignorant of its etiquette and rarely does anyone hear of such considered trivial rules being used today. I guess that change just comes with the flow. After all, everything needs to change. Well, I’m guessing next time you go to your favorite Chinese restaurant you’ll know exactly what to do with your “utensil”. LOL! Until next time…

My Sources

Chopsticks—Wikipedia
Chopsticks—Chinese Culture