China / Beijing

How to use chopsticksA ~ Z

Introducing the How to use chopsticks

Chopsticks originated in ancient China as early as the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BC). The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks, which was made of bronze, was excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang, Henan Province, dated roughly 1200 BC. The earliest known extant textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (280-233 BC) in the 3rd century BC. While China 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.

The use of chopsticks is a must in the Chinese cuisine culture. It is not only important to use the sticks but you should be aware of the correct use of them. So it is better to have at least a basic idea about the correct method of using the chopsticks in order to avoid embarrassment.

1. Place the first chopstick in the crook of your thumb and forefinger. Support it with the little and ring fingers, and keep it there with the knuckle of the thumb.

2. Hold the second chopstick like a pencil, between middle and index fingers, anchored by the pad of your thumb.

3. When picking up food, keep the lower stick stationary and the tips even. As the index finger moves up and down, only the upper stick should move, using the thumb as axis.

If you are not using the chopsticks, you are expected to place them tidily. Since they are used for eating, it should be considered that they are not mishandled. Therefore, after finishing your meal, always place the chopsticks side by side neatly. Another important thing is that it is indecent and ill-mannered to point at someone with the chopstick. Just like ordinary spoons, the chopsticks can be re-used after washing. However, there might be some disposable chopsticks. Therefore, if they are not disposable, you should be courteous enough to use them only for eating purposes and the things like biting at the ends or tooth picking are highly discouraged.

Always try to act respectfully during the meal. If you hit the stick in your plate, this would be childish, because only beggars do that in China. The way the chopsticks are placed in the plates also holds importance in the Chinese culture. Yes, if you do not know how to place the sticks in the plates, the food would be considered to serve the dead people, like putting both them in the middle of rice. Similarly, sticks should not be used for trying to find certain special ingredient in the dish. This habit is normally associated with digging of one’s grave which is obviously shameful. In the Chinese dinning etiquette, there are many do and don’ts. They have spent thousands of years in developing these set of values for their society. If you can learn all these etiquette, you won’t find any difficulties as a ‘dinner guest’ in China.

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