Chopsticks 

(Chinese: 筷子 or 箸; Pinyin: kuàizi or zhù) are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating
utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the
hand, to pick up food.

First used by the Chinese, chopsticks later spread throughout China and parts of Asia. Chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food in
the West, especially in cities with significant Asian diaspora communities.

Chopsticks are smoothed, and frequently tapered. They are traditionally made of wood, bamboo, metal, ivory, and ceramics, and in modern days, increasingly
available in non-traditional materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and even titanium. Chopsticks are often seen as requiring practice and skill to master to be
used as an eating utensil. Although not as serious as before, in some countries it is often frowned upon if used incorrectly.

Contents

 1Origin and history

o 1.1As cooking utensils

o 1.2As eating utensils

o 1.3Propagation throughout the world

o 1.4Naming in different countries

 2Styles of chopsticks
o 2.1Common characteristics

o 2.2China

o 2.3Japan

o 2.4Korea

o 2.5Vietnam

o 2.6Thailand

o 2.7Borneo

 3Using chopsticks
o 3.1Chopstick grips

o 3.2Standard grip

 4Learning to use chopsticks

o 4.1Full range of chopstick motion

o 4.2Learning aids

 5Chopstick customs, manners and etiquette

o 5.1China

o 5.2Japan

o 5.3Korea

o 5.4Vietnam

o 5.5Cambodia

o 5.6Thailand

 6Global impacts
o 6.1Environmental impacts

o 6.2Effects on health

 7See also

 8Notes

 9References

 10External links

Origin and history[edit]

See also: List of Chinese inventions

Chopsticks have been around and used since at least the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE). However, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian wrote that it is likely
that chopsticks were also used in the preceding Xia dynasty and even the earlier Erlitou culture, although finding archeological evidence from this era is incredibly
difficult. [1]
The earliest evidence of chopsticks uncovered so far consists of six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 centimeters (10 in) long, and 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters (0.43 to
0.51 in) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang (Henan). These are dated roughly to 1200 BCE, during the Shang dynasty. They were supposed to
have been used for cooking.[2][3][4] The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c.
280–233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE.[5]

The wide diffusion of chopsticks in the Chinese culture is sometimes attributed to the Confucian philosophy that emphasizes family harmony as the basis for civil
order.[6] Confucius himself have allegedly said that knives are for warriors, but chopsticks are for scholars,[7] and his successor Mencius is linked to the aphorism
"the honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen… And he allows no knives on his table".[8] Confucius references to
chopsticks in his Book of Rites suggests these items were widely known in the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC).[9]

As cooking utensils[edit]

Silver chopsticks, spoon, and bowl from the Song dynasty

The first chopsticks were used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or seizing bits of food, and not as eating utensils. One reason was that before the Han
dynasty, millet was predominant in North China, Korea and parts of Japan. While chopsticks were used for cooking, millet porridge was eaten with spoons at that
time.[10]: 29-35  The use of chopsticks in the kitchen continues to this day.

Ryōribashi (料理箸) are Japanese kitchen chopsticks used in Japanese cuisine. They are used in the preparation of Japanese food, and are not designed for
eating. These chopsticks allow handling of hot food with one hand, and are used like regular chopsticks. These chopsticks have a length of 30 centimeters (12 in)
or more, and may be looped together with a string at the top. They are usually made from bamboo. For deep frying, however, metal chopsticks with bamboo
handles are preferred, as tips of regular bamboo chopsticks become discolored and greasy after repeated use in hot oil. The bamboo handles protect against heat.

Similarly, Vietnamese cooks use đũa cả (𥮊奇) or "grand chopsticks" in cooking, and for serving rice from the pot.[11]

As eating utensils[edit]

A painting of a Japanese woman using chopsticks, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han dynasty, as rice consumption increased. During this period, spoons continued to be used alongside
chopsticks as eating utensils at meals. It was not until the Ming dynasty that chopsticks came into exclusive use for both serving and eating. They then acquired
the name kuaizi and the present shape.[12][10]: 6-8 

Propagation throughout the world[edit]

The use of chopsticks as both cooking and eating utensils spread throughout East and Southeast Asia over time. Scholars such as Isshiki Hachiro and Lynn White
have noted how the world was split among three dining customs, or food cultural spheres. There are those eating with fingers, and those with forks and knives.
Then there is the "chopsticks cultural sphere", consisting of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.[10]: 1-3, 67-92 

As ethnic Chinese emigrated, they also spread the customs of the usage of chopsticks as eating utensils, and has now also been used in certain ethnic foods in
South and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. In Singapore and Malaysia, the ethnic
Chinese traditionally consume all food with chopsticks, while ethnic Indians and Malays (especially in Singapore) use chopsticks to consume noodle dishes.
Overall, the use of a spoon or fork or chopsticks are interchangeable in these regions.[13][14] In Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal chopsticks are generally used
only to consume noodles.[10]: 1–8 

Similarly, chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food around the world, in Hawaii, the West Coast of North America,[15][16] and cities with
Overseas Asian communities all around the globe.

The earliest European reference to chopsticks comes in the Portuguese Suma Oriental by Tomé Pires, who wrote in 1515 in Malacca: "They [the Chinese] eat with
two sticks and the earthenware or china bowl in their left hand close to the mouth, with the two sticks to suck in. This is the Chinese way."[17]
Naming in different countries[edit]
In ancient written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was zhu (箸; Middle Chinese reconstruction: d̪jwo-). Although it may have been widely used in ancient
spoken Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character kuài (快), meaning "quick". The original character, though still used in
writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Chinese. It, however, is preserved in Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Teochew, as the Min Chinese languages are
directly descended from Old Chinese rather than Middle Chinese.

The Standard Chinese term for chopsticks is kuàizi (筷子). The first character (筷) is a pictophonetic (semantic-phonetic) compound created with a phonetic part
meaning "quick" (快), and a semantic part meaning "bamboo" (竹), using the radical (⺮).[18][19]

The English word "chopstick" may have derived from Chinese Pidgin English, in which chop chop meant "quickly".[20][21][22] According to the Oxford English Dictionary,
the earliest published use of the word is in the 1699 book Voyages and Descriptions by William Dampier: "they are called by the English seamen Chopsticks".
[23]
 Another possibility, is that the term is derived from chow (or chow chow) which is also a pidgin word stemming from Southeast Asia meaning "food". Thus
chopsticks would simply mean "food sticks".

In Japanese, chopsticks are called hashi (箸). They are also known as otemoto (おてもと), a phrase commonly printed on the wrappers of disposable
chopsticks. Te means hand and moto means the area under or around something. The preceding o is used for politeness.

In Okinawan, chopsticks are called mēshi (めーし) as a vulgar word,[24] umēshi (うめーし) as a polite word,[25] or 'nmēshi ぅんめーし(御箸[citation needed], ʔNmeesi).[26] A
special type of chopsticks made from the himehagi (Polygala japonica) stem is called sōrō 'nmēshi (そーろーぅんめーし, sooroo ʔNmeesi 精霊御箸[citation needed]). These
are used at altars of offerings in Kyū Bon (old Bon Festival).[27]

In Korean, 저 (箸, jeo) is used in the compound jeotgarak (젓가락), which is composed of jeo ("chopsticks") and garak ("stick"). Jeo cannot be used alone, but can
be found in other compounds such as sujeo (수저) ("spoon and chopsticks").

In Indonesian, chopsticks are called sumpit.

In Taiwanese Hokkien, which is derived from Hokkien, chopsticks are called tī, written as 箸.[28]

In Vietnamese, chopsticks are called đũa, which is written as 箸 in Chữ Nôm. Đũa is the non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of 箸. An alternative character is 𥮊.

In Cambodian (Khmer), chopsticks are called chang keuh (ចង្ក ឹះ).