Chopsticks
Encyclopedia
Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China
and its diaspora, Japan
, Korea
, Vietnam
and Northern provinces of Laos
, Thailand
and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some areas of Tibet
and Nepal
that are close to Han Chinese
populations. Chopsticks are most commonly made of bamboo
or plastic
, but are also made of metal
, bone
, ivory
, and various types of wood
. The pair of sticks is maneuvered in one hand, between the thumb and fingers, and used to pick up pieces of food.
, a pidgin
in which "chop chop
" meant quickly. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest published use of the word is in the 1699 book Voyages and descriptions by William Dampier
, where it says "they are called by the English seamen Chopsticks".
In the Chinese language, chopsticks are called kuaizi . The first character (筷) is a semantic-phonetic compound with a phonetic part meaning "quick" (快), and a semantic part meaning "bamboo" (竹).
In ancient written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was 箸 (Middle Chinese
: ; ). However, it is postulated by some that the pronunciation for this character became a taboo on ships because it sounded either the same or similar to the word meaning "to stop" (住) in many Chinese languages. As such, although 箸 may have been widely used in ancient spoken Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character 快 , meaning "quick". The original character, though still commonly used in writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Chinese languages, with the exception of modern Hokkien
where the new character is not used for chopsticks. For written semantic differentiation between the "fast" versus "chopsticks" meanings of 快, a new character 筷 was created for chopsticks by adding the bamboo (竹) radical
(⺮) to it.
In Japanese
, chopsticks are called hashi (はし), written . They are also known as or o-temoto, a phrase commonly printed on the wrappers of disposable chopsticks. O is honorific and temoto was euphemistic jargon invented by the clique of the ladies in attendance at the imperial court meaning that which is within your reach. More fundamentally, te means hand and moto is related to the kyo of kyoka (permission).
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.
In Vietnamese
, chopsticks are called "đũa", which is written as 𥮊 with 竹 trúc (bamboo) as the semantic, and 杜 đỗ as the phonetic part in Chữ Nôm.
as early as the Shang dynasty
(1766-1122 BCE). The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks, which was made out of bronze, was excavated from the Ruins of Yin
near Anyang
, Henan
, dated roughly 1200 BCE. The earliest known extant 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.
While China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam had long included chopsticks as part of their traditional eating utensils, the use of chopsticks in a limited sense spread to other Asian countries in recent centuries with the influx of Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia
.
Many countries in Southeast Asia had traditionally eaten with their hands, but through the influence of Chinese immigrants, countries such as Thailand
, and Indonesia
began to use chopsticks, albeit almost exclusively in noodle dishes . Rice and other foods are generally eaten with a spoon
and fork
rather than chopsticks.
govern the proper conduct of the use of chopsticks. Held between the thumb and fingers of one hand, chopsticks are used like tongs
to pick up portions of food which are prepared and brought to the table in small and convenient pieces. They are thought of as an extension of one's fingers. Chopsticks may also be used (except in Korea) as means for sweeping rice
and other nominal morsels into the mouth directly from the bowl.
Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand, even by some left-handed
people. Although chopsticks may now be found in either hand, a few still consider left-handed chopstick use improper etiquette. This practice prevents a left-handed chopstick user from accidentally elbowing a right-handed user when seated closely together. A pair of chopsticks is held in a certain proper way. The lower chopstick is stationary and placed between the base of the thumb and top of the ring finger, whilst the upper chopstick is placed at the top of the index finger, ring finger, and thumb and moved to pick up food. Chopsticks, when not in use, are placed either to the right or below one's plate in a Chinese table setting.
In chopstick-using cultures, food is generally made into small pieces; however, some chopstick designs have carved rings encircling the tips to aid in grasping larger pieces of food. Rice
, which would be difficult to eat with chopsticks if prepared using Western
methods, is usually prepared in East Asia with more water, which leads to "clumping" of the rice conducive to eating with chopsticks. The sticky characteristics of the rice also depend on the cultivar
of rice; the cultivar used in East Asian countries is usually japonica
, which is a more naturally clumping kind of rice than indica, the rice used in most Western
and South Asian countries.
There are several styles of chopsticks that vary in respect to:
regarding eating utensils.
, where around a total of 24 billion pairs are used each year, which is equivalent to almost 200 pairs per person annually. In China, an estimated 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are produced annually. This adds up to 1.66 million cubic metres of timber or 25 million fully grown trees every year. In April 2006, the People's Republic of China imposed a five percent tax on disposable chopsticks to reduce waste of natural resources by over-consumption. This measure had the most effect in Japan as many of its disposable chopsticks are imported from China, which account for over 90% of the Japanese market.
American manufacturers have begun exporting American-made chopsticks to China, using sweet gum and poplar wood as "they do not need to be artificially lightened with chemicals and bleach" and are appealing to Asian consumers. The USA also has an abundance of wood, reducing the number of trees that are cut down in Asia.
The American-born Taiwanese singer Leehom Wang has publicly advocated use of reusable chopsticks made from sustainable materials. In Japan, reusable chopsticks are known as "my hashi" (meaning "my chopsticks").
in the hand, a condition in which cartilage is worn out, leading to pain and swelling in the hand joints. There have also been concerns regarding the use of certain disposable chopsticks made from dark wood bleached white that may pose a health risk, causing cough
ing or leading to asthma
.
A 2006 Hong Kong
Department of Health survey found that the proportion of people using serving chopsticks, spoons or other serving utensils has increased from 46% to 65% since the SARS outbreak in 2003.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and its diaspora, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Northern provinces of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some areas of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
that are close to Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
populations. Chopsticks are most commonly made of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
or plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
, but are also made of metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
, ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, and various types of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. The pair of sticks is maneuvered in one hand, between the thumb and fingers, and used to pick up pieces of food.
Etymology
The English word "chopstick" seems to have been derived from Chinese Pidgin EnglishChinese Pidgin English
Chinese Pidgin English is a Pidgin language between English and Chinese. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, there was also Chinese Pidgin English spoken in Cantonese-speaking portions of China...
, a pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
in which "chop chop
Chop chop (phrase)
"Chop chop" is a phrase rooted in Cantonese. It spread through Chinese workers at sea and has been in North America since the 19th century. "Chop chop" refers to "hurry, hurry" and means, something should be done now, advance and without any delay...
" meant quickly. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest published use of the word is in the 1699 book Voyages and descriptions by William Dampier
William Dampier
William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer...
, where it says "they are called by the English seamen Chopsticks".
In ancient written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was 箸 (Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
: ; ). However, it is postulated by some that the pronunciation for this character became a taboo on ships because it sounded either the same or similar to the word meaning "to stop" (住) in many Chinese languages. As such, although 箸 may have been widely used in ancient spoken Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character 快 , meaning "quick". The original character, though still commonly used in writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Chinese languages, with the exception of modern Hokkien
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
where the new character is not used for chopsticks. For written semantic differentiation between the "fast" versus "chopsticks" meanings of 快, a new character 筷 was created for chopsticks by adding the bamboo (竹) radical
Radical (Chinese character)
A Chinese radical is a component of a Chinese character. The term may variously refer to the original semantic element of a character, or to any semantic element, or, loosely, to any element whatever its origin or purpose...
(⺮) to it.
In Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, chopsticks are called hashi (はし), written . They are also known as or o-temoto, a phrase commonly printed on the wrappers of disposable chopsticks. O is honorific and temoto was euphemistic jargon invented by the clique of the ladies in attendance at the imperial court meaning that which is within your reach. More fundamentally, te means hand and moto is related to the kyo of kyoka (permission).
In Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, 저 (箸, jeo) is used in the compound jeotgarak (젓가락) which is composed of jeo (chopsticks) and garak (stick). Jeo cannot be used alone.
In Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
, chopsticks are called "đũa", which is written as 𥮊 with 竹 trúc (bamboo) as the semantic, and 杜 đỗ as the phonetic part in Chữ Nôm.
History
Chopsticks originated in ancient ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
as early as the Shang dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
(1766-1122 BCE). The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks, which was made out of bronze, was excavated from the Ruins of Yin
Yinxu
Yinxu is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty. The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.Rediscovered in 1899, it is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
near Anyang
Anyang
Anyang is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively....
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, dated roughly 1200 BCE. The earliest known extant textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi
Han Feizi (book)
The Han Feizi is a work written by Han Feizi at the end of the Warring States Period in China, detailing his political philosophy. It belongs to the Legalist school of thought....
, a philosophical text written by Han Fei
Han Fei
Han Fei was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, Gongsun Yang, Shen Dao and Shen Buhai, developed the doctrine of the School of Law or Legalism...
(c. 280-233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE.
While China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam had long included chopsticks as part of their traditional eating utensils, the use of chopsticks in a limited sense spread to other Asian countries in recent centuries with the influx of Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
Many countries in Southeast Asia had traditionally eaten with their hands, but through the influence of Chinese immigrants, countries such as Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
began to use chopsticks, albeit almost exclusively in noodle dishes . Rice and other foods are generally eaten with a spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
and fork
Fork
As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...
rather than chopsticks.
Use
Many rules of etiquetteEtiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
govern the proper conduct of the use of chopsticks. Held between the thumb and fingers of one hand, chopsticks are used like tongs
Tongs
Tongs are used for gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nippers, but the greatest number fall into three classes:...
to pick up portions of food which are prepared and brought to the table in small and convenient pieces. They are thought of as an extension of one's fingers. Chopsticks may also be used (except in Korea) as means for sweeping rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and other nominal morsels into the mouth directly from the bowl.
Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand, even by some left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
people. Although chopsticks may now be found in either hand, a few still consider left-handed chopstick use improper etiquette. This practice prevents a left-handed chopstick user from accidentally elbowing a right-handed user when seated closely together. A pair of chopsticks is held in a certain proper way. The lower chopstick is stationary and placed between the base of the thumb and top of the ring finger, whilst the upper chopstick is placed at the top of the index finger, ring finger, and thumb and moved to pick up food. Chopsticks, when not in use, are placed either to the right or below one's plate in a Chinese table setting.
In chopstick-using cultures, food is generally made into small pieces; however, some chopstick designs have carved rings encircling the tips to aid in grasping larger pieces of food. Rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, which would be difficult to eat with chopsticks if prepared using Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
methods, is usually prepared in East Asia with more water, which leads to "clumping" of the rice conducive to eating with chopsticks. The sticky characteristics of the rice also depend on the cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
of rice; the cultivar used in East Asian countries is usually japonica
Japanese rice
Japanese rice, or japonica, is a short-grain variety of rice which is characterized by its unique stickiness and texture. It also comes in a variety called mochigome which is used for making mochi...
, which is a more naturally clumping kind of rice than indica, the rice used in most Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and South Asian countries.
Types
- Length: Very long chopsticks, usually about 30 or 40 centimeters, tend to be used for cooking, especially for deep frying foods. In Japan they are called ryoribashi. Shorter chopsticks are generally used as eating utensils but are also used for cooking.
- Tapering: The end of the chopsticks for picking up food are tapered to a blunt or a pointed end. Blunt end chopsticks provide more surface area for holding food and for pushing rice into the mouth. Pointed chopsticks allow for easier manipulation of food and for picking out bones from cooked fish. Pointed ends are also helpful in spearing the food, if the proper technique cannot be mastered. Spearing is seen, however, as improper etiquette. Note, however, that some older styles of chopsticks are untapered, in which case the ends to be held are often marked in some way, e.g. metal bands, or writing or branding.
- Material: Chopsticks are made from a variety of materials: bambooBambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, plasticPlasticA plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
, woodWoodWood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, boneBoneBones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
, metalMetalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, jadeJadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
, and ivoryIvoryIvory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
.- Bamboo and wood chopsticks are cheap, low in temperature conduction and provide good grip for holding food due to their matte surfaces. They can warp and deteriorate with continued use. Almost all cooking and disposable chopsticks are made of bamboo or wood. Disposable unlacquered chopsticks are used especially in restaurants. These often come as a piece of wood that is partially cut and must be split into two chopsticks by the user (demonstrating that they have not been previously used). In Japanese, these are known as waribashi . Disposable chopstick wrappers, particularly in takeout food, may also include a toothpick; in Japan such wrappers have a warning on the outside to avoid being stabbed when unwrapping the chopsticks. Natural wood chopsticks, like natural wood food preparation surfaces, have an innate antibacterial property absent from other materials.
- Plastic chopsticks are cheap, low in temperature conduction and are resistant to wear. Due to their composition, plastic chopsticks are not as effective as wood and bamboo chopsticks are for picking up food because they tend to be slippery. Also, plastic chopsticks cannot be used for cooking since high temperatures may damage the chopsticks and produce toxic compounds.
- Metal chopsticks are durable and easy to clean but more slippery when compared to plastic or wood. They also tend to be more expensive. Metal chopsticks, especially of the stainless steel variety, are most commonly associated with Korean chopsticks.
- Materials such as ivory, jade, gold, and silver are typically chosen for luxury. Silver-tipped chopsticks were often used by wealthy people in East Asian cultures, as it was believed that the silver would turn black upon contact with poison.
- Embellishments: Wooden or bambooBambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
chopsticks can be painted or lacquered to decorate them and make them waterproof. Metal chopsticks are sometimes roughened or scribed on the tapered end to make them less slippery when picking up foods. Higher priced metal chopstick pairs are sometimes connected by a short chain at the untapered end to prevent their separation.
Styles in different cultures
- ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
: longer sticks that are either square or round in the cross section where they are held, and round in the cross section where they contact food, ending in a blunt tip. - JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese: short to medium length sticks that taper to a pointed end. Japanese chopsticks are traditionally made of wood or bamboo and are lacquered. Some chopstick sets include two lengths of chopsticks: shorter ones for women and longer ones for men. Child-sized chopsticks are widely sold. - KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n: short to medium length stainless-steel tapered rods, with a flat rectangular cross section. (Traditionally, they were made of brass or silver.) Many Korean metal chopsticks are ornately decorated at the grip. They are sometimes used to put food on a complementary spoon, which then brings food to the mouth. - VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese: long sticks that taper to a blunt point; traditionally wooden. A đũa cả is a large pair of flat chopsticks that is used to serve rice from a pot.
Etiquette
Chopsticks are used in many parts of the world. While principles of etiquette are similar, the finer points may differ from region to region, and there is no single standard for the use of chopsticks. Generally, chopsticks etiquette is similar to general western etiquetteEtiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
regarding eating utensils.
Universal etiquette
- Chopsticks are not used to make noise, to draw attention, or to gesticulate. Playing with chopsticks is considered bad mannered and vulgar (just as playing with cutleryCutleryCutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
in a Western environment would be deemed rude). - Chopsticks are not used to move bowls or plates.
- Chopsticks are not used to toy with one's food or with dishes in common.
- Chopsticks are not used to impale food, save in rare instances. Exceptions include tearing large food items asunder, such as vegetables and kimchiKimchiKimchi , also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common...
. In informal use, small, difficult-to-pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be lanced, but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists. - Chopsticks should not be left standing vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. Any pair of stick-like objects pointed upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members; certain funerary rites designate offerings of food to the dead using standing chopsticks.
Chinese etiquette
See Chinese table mannersChinese table manners
Chinese table manners are the traditional styles that are used for eating in the region of China. In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is cooked in bite-sized pieces and easy to hold and eat...
- In Chinese culture, it is normal to hold the rice bowl—rice in China is rarely served on a plate—up to one's mouth and use chopsticks to push rice directly into the mouth.
- It is acceptable to transfer food to closely related people (e.g. grandparents, parents, spouse, children, or significant others) if 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.
- It is poor etiquette to tap chopsticks on the edge of one's bowl, as beggars are believed to make this noise to attract attention.
- It is impolite to spear food with a chopstick, unless the food is difficult to handle, such as fishballs.
- It is considered poor etiquette to point rested chopsticks towards others seated at the table.
- Chopsticks should not be left vertically stuck into a bowl of rice because it resembles the ritualRitualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
of incenseIncenseIncense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
-burning that symbolizes "feeding" the dead and death in general. - Holding chopsticks incorrectly will reflect badly on a child's parents, who have the responsibility of teaching their children.
- Serving chopsticks (公筷, "community-use chopsticks") are used to take food from serving dishes. These chopsticks are to be returned to the dishes after one has served oneself, and are often a different colour from individuals' chopsticks.
Hong Kong and Cantonese etiquette
- The eldest (most respected) member of the family holds his/her chopsticks first.
- Chopsticks are not to be used backwards. However it is "acceptable" to use backwards chopstick to stir or transfer the dish to another plate (if the person is not intending to eat it). This method is used only if there are no serving chopstick around.
- Resting chopsticks at the top of the bowl means "I've finished". Resting chopsticks on the chopstick stands means "I'd like to continue but am taking a break."
Taiwanese etiquette
- Food should not be transferred between chopsticks. Food in need of transportation should be placed onto the recipient's plate or on a new plate for collection.
- Using chopsticks like a knife and fork to cut soft foods into smaller portions for children is widely accepted.
- Chopsticks should not be planted on the rice such that they stand up, as this resembles incense stuck in the ash of a censer and is thus connected with death.
- Chopsticks should not be rested on the table but rather on a provided chopstick rest or lying across the rice bowl in a sideways fashion. Alternatively, they can be placed flat on the bowl when finished.
- Chopsticks should not be bitten on, or linger in one's mouth for too long.
Japanese etiquette
- Food should not be transferred from one's own chopsticks to someone else's chopsticks. Japanese people will always offer their plate to transfer it directly, or pass a person's plate along if the distance is great. Transferring directly with chopsticks is how bones are passed as part of Japanese funeral ritesJapanese funeralA Japanese funeral A Japanese funeral A Japanese funeral (葬儀 sōgi or 葬式 sōshiki）includes a wake, the cremation of the deceased, a burial in a family grave, and a periodic memorial service. According to 2007 statistics, 99.81% of deceased Japanese are cremated...
. - The pointed ends of the chopsticks should be placed on a chopstick restChopstick restA is tableware, similar to a spoon rest, used to keep chopstick tips off the table and to prevent used chopsticks from contaminating or rolling off tables. Chopstick rests are found more commonly in restaurants than in homes. They come in various shapes and are made from clay, wood, glass,...
when the chopsticks are not being used. However, when a chopstick rest is not available as it is often the case in restaurants using waribashi (disposable chopsticks), a person may make a chopstick rest by folding the paper case that contained the chopsticks. - Reversing chopsticks to use the opposite clean end is commonly used to move food from a communal plate, although it is not considered to be proper mannersMannersIn sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which demonstrate that a person is proper, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions, the...
. Rather, the group should ask for extra chopsticks to transfer food from a communal plate. - Chopsticks should not be crossed on a table, as this symbolizes death, or vertically stuck in the rice, which is done during a funeral.
- It is rude to rub wooden chopsticks together after breaking them apart, as this communicates to the host that the user thinks the chopsticks are cheap.
- Chopsticks should be placed right-left direction; the tips should be on the left. Placing diagonal, vertical and crossing each stick are not acceptable both in home and restaurant manners.
- In formal use, disposable chopsticks (waribashi) should be replaced into the wrapper at the end of a meal.
Korean etiquette
In Korea, chopsticks are paired with a spoon, and there are conventions for how these are used together.- The elders pick up the utensils first, then the younger ones do.
- It is considered uncultured and rude to pick up a dish or a bowl to bring it closer to one's mouth, and eat its content with chopsticks (except certain noodle dishes like naengmyeonNaengmyeonNaengmyeon is a Korean dish of long and thin hand-made noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients: buckwheat , potatoes, sweet potatoes, 칡냉면, naengmyun made with the starch from arrowroot , and kudzu...
). Dishes are to be left on the table at all times, and a spoon is used alongside chopsticks, if the food lifted "drips". This is in stark contrast to Chinese and Japanese convention, which lifts up the rice bowl, often to the mouth. - When laying chopsticks down on the table next to a spoon, one must never put the chopsticks to the left of the spoon. Chopsticks are only laid to the left during the food preparation for the funeral or the memorial service for the deceased family members, known as jesa.
- It is rude to use the same hand to hold both chopsticks and a spoon at the same time and laying the spoon down on the table while one uses chopsticks.
- Use a spoon to eat soup, stew and liquid side dishes, and chopsticks for solid side dishes. Either may be used for eating rice.
Vietnamese etiquette
- 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 riceFried riceFried rice is a popular component of Asian cuisine, especially Chinese food. It is made from steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets...
. - One should not pick up food from the table and place it directly in the mouth. Food must be placed in your own bowl first.
- Chopsticks should not be placed in the mouth while choosing food.
- Chopsticks should never be placed in a "V" shape when done eating; it is interpreted as a bad omen.
Environmental impact
The most widespread use of disposable chopsticks is in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where around a total of 24 billion pairs are used each year, which is equivalent to almost 200 pairs per person annually. In China, an estimated 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are produced annually. This adds up to 1.66 million cubic metres of timber or 25 million fully grown trees every year. In April 2006, the People's Republic of China imposed a five percent tax on disposable chopsticks to reduce waste of natural resources by over-consumption. This measure had the most effect in Japan as many of its disposable chopsticks are imported from China, which account for over 90% of the Japanese market.
American manufacturers have begun exporting American-made chopsticks to China, using sweet gum and poplar wood as "they do not need to be artificially lightened with chemicals and bleach" and are appealing to Asian consumers. The USA also has an abundance of wood, reducing the number of trees that are cut down in Asia.
The American-born Taiwanese singer Leehom Wang has publicly advocated use of reusable chopsticks made from sustainable materials. In Japan, reusable chopsticks are known as "my hashi" (meaning "my chopsticks").
Health effects
A 2003 study found that regular use of chopsticks by the elderly may slightly increase the risk of osteoarthritisOsteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion...
in the hand, a condition in which cartilage is worn out, leading to pain and swelling in the hand joints. There have also been concerns regarding the use of certain disposable chopsticks made from dark wood bleached white that may pose a health risk, causing cough
Cough
A cough is a sudden and often repetitively occurring reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and microbes...
ing or leading to asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
.
A 2006 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Department of Health survey found that the proportion of people using serving chopsticks, spoons or other serving utensils has increased from 46% to 65% since the SARS outbreak in 2003.
External links
- Chopsticks Do's and Dont's I Heart Japan: Learn by Pictures
- Japanese etiquette for chopsticks
- Japanese chop stick faux pas
- A gallery of chopstick images
- Bring Your Own Chopsticks Movement Gains Traction in Asia, article examining the link between chopsticks and deforestation
- How to use Chopsticks?
- Article about chopsticks from MrsLinsKitchen.com, March 2001
- Chinese Chopstick Etiquette