Chopsticks

Chopsticks ( or 箸; Pinyin: kuàizi or zhù) are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks 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. Originating in China, chopsticks later spread to other 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. In some countries, failing to follow etiquette in their use is frowned upon, though such feelings are generally lesser than they once were. 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. The earliest evidence of chopsticks uncovered so far consists of six chopsticks, made of bronze, long, and 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. 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. 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.