It is said that Jiang Ziya (1128–1015), who was a famous military sage who assisted emperors of the Zhou Dynasty (1046–221 BC) against the Shang Dynasty, invented chopsticks…
Apparently Chinese ancestors were the first who invented chopsticks. They did this by discovering that using two twigs is better for reaching into pots full of hot water or oil, rather than using hands or fingers.
The first examples of chopsticks are dated back to around 1200 B.C. They were discovered in the Henan province of China, which is also where early versions of writing utensils were found.
According to the California Academy of Sciences, which houses the Rietz Collection of Food Technology, chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in China. The earliest versions were probably twigs used to retrieve food from cooking pots.
Chopsticks (Chinese: 筷子 or 箸; Pinyin: kuaizi or zhu) 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.
Traditionally Thais ate food with their hands (known as perb-kaao). In more traditional households, the custom of food being eaten with the right hand while seated on mats or carpets on the floor customs is still found today.
Using chopsticks to eat is a long tradition in Vietnam and other Asian countries like China, Korea, and Japan.
Legend has it that due to the enormous population growth in ancient China, the demand for resources necessitated meals to be prepared quickly without wasting precious fuel. To facilitate quicker cooking meat/vegetables were pre-sliced into smaller pieces, making the knife/fork unnecessary as a dining tool on the table.
400 that people began eating with the utensils. This happened when a population boom across China sapped resources and forced cooks to develop cost-saving habits. They began chopping food into smaller pieces that required less cooking fuel—and happened to be perfect for the tweezers-like grip of chopsticks.
Wheat flour foods, such as noodles and dumplings, combined grain and non-grain foods in one form, and to eat noodles, chopsticks clearly were the better tool, for the spoon could not lift them. Chinese also customarily have used chopsticks to eat dumplings.
Chinese chopsticks are usually 9 to 10 inches long and rectangular with a blunt end. They are round on the eating end which symbolizes heaven, and the other end is square which symbolizes earth. This is because maintaining an adequate food supply is the greatest concern between heaven and earth.
In their early history, Japanese chopsticks provided a bridge between the human and the divine. Rather than for taking ordinary meals, they were used, at first, for sharing food with the gods. It was believed that when a pair of chopsticks was offered to a deity, the chopsticks became inhabited by that deity.
Both at home and in restaurants, Filipino people tend to prefer a spoon over a fork and knife, whether or not they're eating soup. The origins of this boil down to the convergence of colonialism and tropical climate. Despite the nation's proximity to China and Japan, chopsticks never took on with the population.
Well, the oldest official records of chopsticks being used in Japan is from the Kojiki, written in 712AD, but they probably made it over there even sooner than that. Chinese culture made its way over to Japan through Korea earlier than that, and the chopsticks were sure to have been one of the things that made it over.
Metal utensils are said to be more hygienic, as they are easier to clean at a higher temperature. Particularly, metal chopsticks are ideal for picking up sizzling hot meat from the grill at the Korean BBQ table. Yet, metal is more slippery than wood and can be a challenge for foreigners, as it demands more precision.
Research shows that eating with chopsticks lowers the glycemic index of the food you consume, thanks to the way it makes you eat it. Because eating with chopsticks meant eating less at a time and eating more slowly, the glycemic index of the food decreases.
Don't use chopsticks that don't match or broken chopsticks; the idea is that things belonging in pairs that are not used together is bad luck. Something that a lot of us are guilty of: Don't break apart wooden chopsticks and rub them together -- this can be considered a rude gesture to your host.
Don't stick your chopsticks into your food so that they stand upright. This is considered extremely rude, as it resembles the incense burned during Buddhist funerals. If you need to put your chopsticks down, rest them on your chopstick holder, if available.
Researchers suggest that hemp paper like that found in the tomb of second-century A.D. emperor Wu Di—too crude and rough for writing—was used in the bathroom instead. By 1393, rice-based toilet paper was mass-produced for the Chinese imperial family.
The Chinese Imperial Court of the Han Dynasty were the first recorded to have created toilet paper in the year 851 AD; this was made from silk and tree bark and reserved for use by Emperors and their families. The use of ordinary paper had been documented many years before this.
Not all Asian countries use chopsticks as their primary utensils. Expect to use chopsticks when you're in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. But if you go to a Thai restaurant, they'll most likely give you a knife and fork. That's the primary utensils used in Thailand now.
Chopsticks are the most popular form of utensils in China. However, anything western is usually eaten with a fork and knife.
In Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Nepal chopsticks are generally used only to consume noodles.
Mongolians don't eat with chopsticks. They generally use a spoon, fork or just their hands. Boiled meat is passed around in a large communal bowl with a knife.