Chopsticks

Chopsticks are pairs of sticks that are the same length. People have used them as kitchen and eating utensils in most countries of the Sinosphere for thousands of years. You hold them in your main hand, between your fingers, to pick up food.

They started in China and then spread to places like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Today, people often think of them when they eat East Asian food in the West, especially in cities with many diaspora families from those areas.

Traditionally, chopsticks were made from wood, bamboo, metal, ivory, and ceramics. Now, you can also find them made from plastic, stainless steel, and even titanium. Learning to use chopsticks can take some practice, and there are special ways to hold them that people think are polite.

Origin and history

Chopsticks have been used since at least the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE). The oldest chopsticks found are made of bronze. They were found near Anyang in Henan and are from around 1200 BC.

At first, chopsticks were used for cooking to stir and serve food. Later, during the Han dynasty, people also used them for eating, especially with rice. Over time, chopsticks spread from China to places like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Today, many people use them when eating East Asian food around the world.

Styles of chopsticks

Chopsticks come in many different styles. They can be small or tall, and have many shapes. Some are round, and others are square. The ends can be blunt or pointy, and some have special textures to help hold food.

Chopsticks can be made from many materials, including bamboo, wood, plastic, metal, bone, and even jade. Bamboo and wood are common for daily use, while plastic is often used in restaurants. Metal chopsticks, like those made from stainless steel, last a long time and are easy to wash. Some special chopsticks are made from gold or silver for celebrations.

Using chopsticks

People all over the world hold chopsticks in different ways, but they all want to use them like an extension of their hand. Whether using the standard grip or another way, the goal is the same: to hold the two sticks with your fingers so you can pick up food easily.

The standard grip is often thought to be the best. In this grip, you hold the top stick with the tips of your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, almost like holding a pen. The bottom stick stays still, held in place by the base of your thumb against the ring finger's knuckle. This way, your thumb helps move the top stick while keeping the bottom one steady.

Learning to use chopsticks

In places where people use chopsticks, learning how to use them is an important part of growing up. Families usually teach children the right way to hold chopsticks, but kids often find their own ways at first. Parents may buy special tools to help their children learn the proper way.

For adults learning to use chopsticks, they might get help from friends or instructions on disposable chopstick wrappers. There are also many videos online that show how to use chopsticks. Even adults sometimes find their own ways to hold them.

Learning tools try to guide people toward the usual way of holding chopsticks. They show or help enforce the correct grip and how the chopsticks move. The process starts with placing fingers correctly and holding the chopsticks like extensions of the fingers. Next, learners need to understand how to move the top chopstick from a closed position, where the tips touch, to an open position where the tips spread apart to pick up food. Keeping the thumb flat helps hold the bottom chopstick steady while moving the top one. This flat thumb position helps keep the chopsticks in place and allows for better control when picking up food.

The most common learning aid is a wrapper sleeve with a rubber band, often found in East Asian restaurants. While these help pick up food, they don’t teach the standard grip. Other inventions, like Kwik Stix, and tools that combine chopsticks with other utensils, such as The Chork or Fork and Knife Chopsticks, are also available.

Some learning aids help with placing fingers correctly by labeling spots on the chopsticks or carving grooves to guide finger placement.

Other tools let users move the chopsticks like extensions of their fingers without needing the exact finger movements of the standard grip. These might use hoops or tabs to help move the chopsticks, sometimes connecting them with a bridge or hinge to keep them in the right position.

Chopstick customs, manners and etiquette

Chopsticks are used in many parts of Asia, and there are special polite ways to use them. These rules can change a little from place to place.

In some places, it’s normal to lift a bowl close to your mouth when using chopsticks. But in other places, this can seem rude.

In countries where chopsticks are used, holding them the wrong way can reflect on your family.

Generally, chopsticks should never be stuck upright in a bowl of rice.

Sinosphere

China

Further information: Customs and etiquette in Chinese dining

• When eating rice from a bowl, it’s normal to hold the bowl close to your mouth and use chopsticks to push the rice in.
• It’s okay to use your own chopsticks to give food to close family members. But many people use special serving chopsticks.
• When not using chopsticks, they should be placed either to the right or below your plate.
• Tapping chopsticks on your bowl is considered rude.
• It’s impolite to dig through your food looking for something.

Japan

Further information: Customs and etiquette in Japanese dining

• When not using chopsticks, place the ends on a chopstick rest. If you don’t have one, you can fold chopstick wrappers to make a rest.
• You can turn chopsticks around to use the clean end for sharing food from a common dish, but only if there are no special sharing chopsticks.
• Crossing chopsticks on the table is seen as symbolizing something unlucky.
• Chopsticks should be placed horizontally with the tips pointing to the left.
• In formal settings, disposable chopsticks should be put back in their wrapper when the meal ends.
• It’s rude to stick chopsticks upright in rice or pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another.

Korea

• In Korea, chopsticks are used together with a spoon, called a sujeo set. The chopsticks go on the right side, parallel to the bowl of rice (bap) and soup (guk).
• Like in China and Japan, chopsticks should not be stuck upright in food.
• The spoon is used for rice and soups, while chopsticks are used for most side dishes (banchan).
• It’s rude to pick up a bowl or plate to eat from it with chopsticks.

Vietnam

Many Vietnamese people use chopsticks, and their customs are very similar to China’s. For example, it’s normal to hold the bowl close to the mouth while eating.

Some special taboos in Vietnam include:

• Placing uneven chopsticks on the table, as this is thought to bring bad luck.
• Tapping bowls with chopsticks, which is seen as rude.
• Pointing with chopsticks, which is considered disrespectful.
• Crossing chopsticks on the table, which is thought to bring bad luck.
• Using chopsticks to plug a rice bowl

Southeast Asia

Cambodia

In Cambodia, people use chopsticks, spoons, forks, and their hands to eat. Chopsticks are mainly used for noodle dishes. Forks are only used to help guide food onto the spoon, not to eat directly. The spoon is used for broth.

Indonesia and Malaysia

In countries where Malay is spoken, such as Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, chopsticks are mostly used for eating noodles, like mie goreng or mee goreng. For rice dishes, people usually use a spoon, a fork, or sometimes just their hands.

Thailand

Historically, Thai people ate with their hands and sometimes used a spoon and fork for curries or soup. Many Thai noodle dishes eaten from a bowl use chopsticks. Making noise with chopsticks is impolite. It’s also rude to point chopsticks toward someone.

Global impacts

Environmental impacts

In Japan, people use about 24 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks each year. In China, around 45 billion pairs are made each year. This use of wooden chopsticks takes up a lot of trees.

To help save trees, China added a tax on disposable chopsticks in 2006. This tax helped reduce the use of wooden chopsticks.

Some American companies now make chopsticks in the United States using sweet gum and poplar wood. A famous singer from Taiwan, Wang Leehom, has encouraged people to use reusable chopsticks made from sustainable materials. In Japan, reusable chopsticks are called maihashi or maibashi, which means "my chopsticks."

Effects on health

A survey in Hong Kong showed that more people were using separate serving chopsticks when sharing food.