The history of the appearance of Chinese chopsticks

Let's go back a little and find out how and when they were invented. Chinese chopsticks appeared more than 2,500 years ago, and initially they were used only by the emperor and some of his entourage. Only many years later they began to be used for food in Everyday life ordinary citizens. Every year, chopsticks became more and more popular, and gradually they began to be used in Japan, Vietnam, and also Korea. Traditional Chinese chopsticks were made from bamboo and were called “kuaizu”. Outwardly, they looked like tweezers.

Today, split-type sticks, which can be made from various materials. Wood remains the most common, but you can find sticks made of metal, bone or plastic. The wood from which the sticks are made can vary, and their processing can also vary significantly. Chinese chopsticks can be varnished, inlaid with various stones, with a wide variety of designs applied. Despite their appearance, it is important to know how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly. Only in this case will you be able to use them successfully.

How to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly

Conventionally, the sticks can be divided into lower and upper. The lower one is fixed in the hand in such a way that it always remains motionless. Only the top stick moves, and with its help pieces of food are captured and held. If you still don’t know how to use this attribute, then from this article you can learn how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly to make eating convenient.

In order for the lower stick to remain motionless, it is placed in the recess between the index and thumb right hand, and also rest on the half-bent ring finger. The upper stick should be parallel to the lower one and located 15 mm higher. There are two options for holding the top stick, and everyone can choose the one that is more convenient for themselves. The first involves holding the top stick like a ballpoint pen used for writing. In the second option, the stick must be pressed against the middle and index fingers, which should be located at the same level. How to eat with chopsticks? After you have taken the chopsticks using any of the methods indicated above, you need to adjust their length with your left hand so that when they touch, they touch each other only with their tips. In order to bring them together and grab a piece of food, it is enough to bend your index finger.

Using chopsticks while eating

In order to learn how to properly use Chinese chopsticks, you need to familiarize yourself with the provisions of etiquette. You should know that putting food on chopsticks is prohibited. If the food is in a common dish, you should not poke around in it, choosing the piece you like best. If the stick touches a piece, it must be eaten. Chinese chopsticks should not be stuck into food. And clenching them in a fist is perceived as a threatening gesture. Now you know how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly and how to use them. We hope you will greatly enjoy your introduction to Eastern culture.

How to eat with chopsticks

The so-called Chinese chopsticks modern world many people eat. There are those who eat food using them all the time, and there are those who eat with chopsticks only in Chinese or Japanese restaurants.

But in any case, many want to learn this, as it seems to them, tricky art. So, how to eat with chopsticks? In fact, there is nothing complicated about it. You just need to understand how to properly place the chopsticks in your hand. But first, let's dive into history. How did sticks come into being?

History of Chinese chopsticks

It is known for certain that Chinese chopsticks appeared before our era, But exact years It’s still impossible to find out. Some historians believe that this happened in China during the reign of the Shang-Yin dynasty (1764 - 1027 BC). But there are documents proving that ivory sticks existed during the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 -220 BC). Be that as it may, only people of high rank could use them.

Ordinary people were able to eat food with chopsticks only in 700-800 AD. There is also a version that Chinese chopsticks used to be needed for cooking food, not eating it. They were used to turn hot food and the stones on which it was cooked. Later they started eating with chopsticks.

How to eat with chopsticks? Chopstick options: Japanese and Chinese

Now there are many options for sticks. After all, they are in use among many peoples. In the 12th century, the Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese adopted these kitchen utensils from the Chinese. In general, all are eastern neighbors. But each nation's sticks have undergone changes. Traditional Chinese chopsticks are made of wood and are called “kuaizu”. But earlier, from the name itself, it is clear that they were made of bamboo and resembled tweezers. They just weren’t separated like they are now, but were eaten straight like that.

Chinese chopsticks are either disposable or reusable. Disposable chopsticks can be found in restaurants. They are usually in paper packaging, made of sanded wood. And reusable chopsticks are sometimes a work of art. If they are made of wood, then usually such sticks are varnished or painted, and then painted or inlaid. Either way, they look great. Eating with these chopsticks is a pleasure. It happens that they are made from precious and semi-precious metals.

"Kuaizu" can also be of completely different shapes. The tips can be blunt, with a round, square, oval or triangular cross-section, or they can be flat.

Japanese chopsticks are called "hashi". They are traditionally made from wood. Most often from pine, cypress, plum, maple, cedar, willow and various types of sandalwood. Reusable “hashi” are painted or varnished. Appearance theirs is slightly different from the Chinese "kuaizu". Namely, more pointed ends and length.

In Japan, chopsticks are shorter. Their cross-section may be square or round shape. But disposable “hashi” are interesting because there is such a variety as breakable ones - “varibashi”. The bottom line is that during manufacturing, the sticks are not completely separated from each other, but are only separated by a cut in the middle. In a restaurant, the visitor independently separates the sticks, breaking them a little. That's why they are called that.

Japanese chopsticks are also interesting because they have a special stand called “hashioki”. According to etiquette, you need to place the chopsticks on it with thin ends, turning them slightly to the left. Most often, hasioki is also made of wood. It has multiple meanings.

How to eat with chopsticks? Other stick options

In Vietnam, chopsticks are also made of wood. But in Korea they are quite thin and usually made of metal.
Now sticks are also made from materials such as plastic, ivory, and deer antler. But they eat them the same everywhere. Now let's try to master some techniques to how to eat with chopsticks.

Everyone knows that fine motor skills contribute to the development of mental abilities. This is why the Chinese teach one-year-old children how to use chopsticks. Scientists have even derived a special formula, from which it can be seen that if an inexperienced person is given Chinese chopsticks, then after eating 1000 meals, he will be able to use them as well as with his own hands.

The main thing about eating with chopsticks is relax your hand. Otherwise nothing will work. So, let’s conditionally call the sticks upper and lower, because this is how they will be located in the hand in the future.

1. Let's take the bottom stick first. The little finger and ring finger are motionless; we press them together. The middle and index fingers are of no use to us now.
2. We place the lower stick between the thumb and hand and fix it so that its thin edge rests on the ring finger.
3. Now take the top stick. We take it in the same way as we usually hold a pen or pencil.
4. When you want to take any food, the main movements are made with the upper stick. The lower one always remains motionless.

It is better to perform training on small objects. Then you are much more likely to cope with larger pieces of food. Once you have mastered these simple skills, you can safely go to a sushi bar and order rolls!

By the way, Japanese women, for example, do not have the right to eat national sushi with their hands. But Japanese men can choose to eat them with their hands or with chopsticks. But, fortunately, this does not apply to Russian women. Therefore, even in Japanese restaurants, do not hesitate to ask the waiter to bring ordinary cutlery. It’s better to honestly admit that you can’t eat with chopsticks than to find yourself in an awkward position.

national etiquette > china, japan

How to learn to use chopsticks?

Chopsticks are a traditional cutlery for eastern countries such as China and Japan. With their help, Asians eat everything: sushi, rolls, rice and even liquid soups. At first glance, it may seem that learning to hold special chopsticks correctly is quite difficult, but basic movements with chopsticks can be quickly mastered even by little ones. The spread of Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine beyond the borders of their countries simply obliges us to learn to follow the traditional ritual associated with eating oriental food. Chopsticks are not just a cutlery; they create an inimitable flavor at the table.

Most often, disposable chopsticks made of wood or bamboo, fastened at one end, are served at the table. To break them in two, lower them closer to your knees so as not to accidentally touch the dishes, and pull one of the sticks in a motion reminiscent of how you would open a fan.

How to hold Chinese (Japanese) chopsticks correctly

When eating with chopsticks, the fingers and small muscles of the hand are involved. Initially, you just need to learn how to hold the sticks, and only then gradually add movements. Only at the third stage of training, gradually try to grab small objects like peas with chopsticks. Ring finger and little finger working hand presses against each other, the middle and index fingers are extended. One of the sticks is placed on the hollow between the thumb and forefinger so that the thick end is on top of the palm. The lower (thin) part of the stick should be located in the area between the second and third phalanx of the ring finger. It is necessary to ensure that the upper edge of the stick protrudes only slightly, and the lower working end, on the contrary, should be long in order to avoid the possibility of staining the sleeves. The bottom stick should always remain motionless, so you need to learn how to fix it firmly from the very beginning. The second (upper) stick, placed on the third phalanx of the middle finger, must be held with the help of the index and thumb. This may feel similar to using a pencil, only your fingers will be more straightened. The protruding ends of the sticks should be the same length.

You can try to imitate the grip of the forceps with chopsticks, while not forgetting that the lower stick should always remain motionless. If you feel uncomfortable holding your ring finger and little finger closed, then when “opening” the forceps, try moving them away from each other. This will help relax the muscles of the arm, which will experience strong tension at first. When bringing the chopsticks together and grabbing food, do not press too hard, otherwise the food may slip out and fly to the side.

Where to put chopsticks during and after meals

When eating, chopsticks should be placed on a special stand; if there is none, fold the paper wrapper from the chopsticks several times, place it on the end and place the chopsticks on it. Under no circumstances should you stick chopsticks into food or place them across the bowl; in extreme cases, you can place them on the table with their tips resting on the edge of the plate. After eating, politeness requires that you put the used chopsticks and toothpicks back into the paper packaging in which they were brought.

The East is such a delicate matter that it is difficult for the broad Slavic soul to understand and accept some Asian traditions. For example, it is still difficult for our compatriots to learn to eat with Chinese chopsticks, despite the fact that the fashion for Chinese and Japanese cuisine has spread throughout the world. We love sushi and rolls, sashimi and Chinese noodles, but we have difficulty eating it all with chopsticks. Probably, if it were possible to eat sushi with a fork and rice with a spoon, our people would definitely take advantage of this opportunity!

But no: if you want sushi, learn to eat sushi with chopsticks. Moreover, in our time this is already a question with a share of challenge to oneself, a certain sporting interest. How quickly can you learn to eat with chopsticks? Will you be ahead of your friends in this skill or will you learn to eat with chopsticks last at the table? If you really start such a competition in your circle, you will find our detailed instructions on using Chinese chopsticks.

Why do the Chinese eat with chopsticks? Types of chopsticks
The population of East Asia almost entirely uses chopsticks, not out of inability to use other cutlery, and certainly not out of masochism. The Chinese, as well as the Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans and Thais, eat with chopsticks with pleasure, as bequeathed by the ancient ruler Yu the Great, who lived in the 3rd century BC. According to legend, the wise Yu performed many glorious deeds, but today he is remembered for his resourcefulness: after cooking meat in a cauldron, the mythical hero broke off two wood twigs and used them to extract food from boiling water. Grateful contemporaries and descendants adopted this technique and made it a tradition.

Since then, sticks have become a common device for about a third of the world's population. Moreover, the so-called Chinese chopsticks are just one of several types of chopsticks, which are not so difficult to distinguish from each other if you know their features:
In fact, metal sticks are also useful in their own way, at least they were not invented in vain. For example, silver darkens when in contact with arsenic, so in past centuries, when palace intrigues often claimed the lives of heirs to the throne, silver chopsticks made it possible to detect the presence of poison in food. Nowadays, you don’t have to worry about poisoning (if, of course, you eat at trusted sushi bars) and feel free to eat with wooden or plastic chopsticks.

How to learn to eat with Chinese chopsticks?
Only a few craftsmen take sticks in their hands for the first time and immediately succeed in doing something. If you are not Chinese, then first practice holding chopsticks correctly, otherwise you will hardly be able to use them. If you really want to eat, and not just sit at a set table, you will have to forget about embarrassment and try to position and hold the chopsticks in your fingers for a while. To get up to speed quickly, follow the instructions:
Now that you have the chopsticks in your hand, try not to squeeze them too tightly or strain your hand, otherwise you will not be able to move the chopsticks, which is necessary for picking up and holding food. If possible, relax your hand and try to squeeze and unclench the sharp ends of the sticks with just one index finger. It is important that the lower stick, lying between the bases of the thumb and index finger, remains motionless, and the upper one represents tweezers, pressing pieces of food.

Similar guidance can be found on each package of disposable chopsticks that are issued with your order at Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Its convenience lies in its clarity: each stage is illustrated with a schematic drawing. However, these pictures are too primitive and more like sketches hinting at how to hold chopsticks. You can look at this “cheat sheet”, but the step-by-step text instructions will explain the correct position of the fingers more clearly.

How to eat with chopsticks? What can you eat with chopsticks?
The ability to hold Chinese chopsticks in itself does not mean that you have learned to eat with chopsticks according to all the rules. The skill requires regular practice so that the need to put a piece of food into your mouth does not force you to line up the position of your fingers for half an hour. You can even practice using chopsticks at home, on available products and objects:

1. Holding the chopsticks with one hand, try moving and spreading them while without food, simply practicing the motor skills of the movements. Notice if your hand gets tired. If the hand is in the correct position and relaxed, holding the sticks should not be tiring.
   
2. Start your training with large pieces of non-slip food. Slices of bread, slices of fruit and vegetables are ideal. As long as no one sees, you can eat with chopsticks at least fried potatoes, if it helps you practice the necessary movements.
   
3. Gradually complicate the task and try to pick up smaller objects with chopsticks. Order sushi at home and practice on the rolls. Over time, when it becomes easier to hold food, use them to pick up peas, kernels of canned corn and similar small items.
   

It’s one thing to pick up food and squeeze it with chopsticks, and quite another to bring it to your mouth. It's not easy, but it's quite possible. You will be convinced of this when you can eat rolls, sashimi and even rice with Chinese chopsticks without stress. Fans of Chinese and Japanese cuisine eat noodles, slippery pickled mushrooms and seaweed with chopsticks, not to mention meat and fish.

Rules of table manners when using Chinese chopsticks
The use of chopsticks is not only a refined mechanical action, but also compliance with the subtleties that have accumulated over centuries in the Eastern culture of eating. Here are some nuances that will allow you to look decent when visiting a restaurant and not lose face while sharing a meal with representatives of Asian countries:

1. Treat chopsticks with respect. Never knock them on the table, twirl them in your hands, or make any other erratic gestures. Only transferring food from a shared plate to your own and/or bringing food to your mouth is all that you are allowed to do with chopsticks.
   
2. They clamp food with chopsticks, but pinching pieces onto chopsticks is strictly prohibited. Just as it is not customary to stick chopsticks into rice or any other food. The last prohibition is associated with traditional funeral rites, when special aroma sticks installed vertically.
   
3. Sticks are like chess: if you touch it, move. That is, if you touch a piece on a common dish with your chopsticks, you are obliged to take that particular piece for yourself. You can ask for more, but before doing so you should place your chopsticks on the table near your plate.
   

These are the basic rules of etiquette in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, inextricably linked with eating with chopsticks. There are also many traditions associated with marriage and housewarming rituals, when chopsticks become not just cutlery, but also a desired, deeply symbolic gift. Modern Chinese often use spoons and forks, but the ability to eat with chopsticks is mandatory for everyone who respects ancient culture. We wish you to master this skill perfectly and, of course, bon appetit!

Sushi chopsticks are an integral part of a traditional oriental meal. It’s unthinkable without them National cuisine Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea, since the history of their use goes back more than one millennium. In order to understand the full significance of the use of chopsticks in Japanese sushi etiquette, it is necessary to get acquainted with the origins of this centuries-old tradition.

Who came up with the idea of ​​using chopsticks?

Chinese archaeologists have reliably established that chopsticks began to be used in this country about three thousand years ago. There is a legend that attributes the idea of ​​using chopsticks to a mythical emperor named Yu the Great. While taking the meat out of the boiling cauldron, he broke off two small branches from a tree growing nearby and thereby saved his hands from burns. Nowadays, a third of the population of our planet uses chopsticks. About the same number of people eat using spoons and forks. Everyone else prefers to eat with their hands.

Curious facts about the use of chopsticks in Japan

Traditional sushi chopsticks (hashi) originated in Japan around 300 AD and were borrowed from the Chinese. Initially, they resembled tongs (made from a split bamboo trunk) with the halves fastened together.

• Two centuries later, separate sticks appeared, which came into use exclusively by the highest nobility. Commoners at that time ate with their hands. The custom of using chopsticks during meals spread to all segments of the Japanese population from about 700 AD.
• Because mastery of drumsticks is excellent training fine motor skills Directly related to the development of intelligence, Japanese children begin to be introduced to this art from the age of one. There is evidence that the development of babies who use hashi while eating is faster than the development of their peers who eat with spoons.

There is a version that the exceptional mental abilities of the Japanese nation are largely related to the centuries-old experience of using hashi chopsticks.

• A true Japanese will never allow to a stranger use your own chopsticks, since this cutlery belongs to the category of purely personal items.
• According to ancient belief, Khasi are able to bring longevity and prosperity to their owner, so they are a fairly common and desirable gift. When presenting wands to newlyweds, they are accompanied by the wish to be as inseparable as a pair of these wands.
• When exactly one hundred days have passed after the birth of a Japanese child, a mandatory “First Chopsticks” ceremony is held for him, during which he receives the first set of hashi chopsticks in his life and uses them to taste the rice himself.

What types of sushi chopsticks are there?

• Nuribashi (as reusable chopsticks are called in Japan) amaze with their variety of sizes and shapes. Their cross-section is most often square or round, and the tip is pyramidal or conical.
• They come in plastic, metal, bone and wood. For the manufacture of wooden sticks maple, pine, cypress, bamboo, sandalwood and plum are used.
• Often, nuribashi sticks are decorated by applying beautiful patterns and making mother-of-pearl inserts. Similar products may have some artistic value.

• IN last years Many Japanese restaurants have begun to use waribashi, which are disposable chopsticks packaged in a sealed paper bag with the restaurant’s logo. Especially beautiful packaging often become exhibits in collections. The sticks in such packages are fastened together: this is done so that the visitor is sure that no one has used this set before.
• Asians are so good at using sushi chopsticks that they serve more than just transporting food into their mouths. Using chopsticks, they easily chop and cut food into smaller pieces, and are also used for mixing various sauces.

How to hold sushi chopsticks correctly?

To use chopsticks correctly, you need to learn how to hold them correctly. First, let's try to understand the very principle of their retention.

During eating, the lower stick maintains a passive position, and food is captured using manipulations performed by the upper stick. Straightening the index and middle fingers, the chopsticks are moved apart and clasped around a piece of food. Bend your fingers, close the sticks, fix the captured piece in them and bring it to your mouth. You should hold the chopsticks without straining your hand. The hand should be relaxed, and the movements of the fingers should be flexible and relaxed.
When going to an oriental restaurant and wanting to impress yourself as a connoisseur of exotic cuisine who knows how to masterfully use sushi chopsticks, it would be a good idea to practice at home. You can simply try to grab peas or corn kernels with chopsticks, or you can combine business with pleasure and eat some cherries or cherries with them. If you don’t suffer from excessive ambition and don’t hide from others that you don’t know how to hold a treacherous device correctly, you can ask the waiter to bring you training sticks connected to each other by some kind of spring. This way you will kill two birds with one stone: you will eat without problems (it is much more convenient for a beginner to wield such chopsticks) and join the culture of the national Japanese meal.

Subtleties of etiquette

Over many centuries of using sushi chopsticks, the ritual of eating has acquired a large number of customs and rules. U different nations etiquette has its own national characteristics, but there are many common features. Fundamental principle is a particularly respectful attitude towards this cutlery as a sacred symbol. That is why you can only pick up food with chopsticks, transferring it to your bowl or transporting it into your mouth. All other actions are considered an unacceptable violation of etiquette.

Indecent:

1. Attract the waiter's attention by tapping chopsticks on objects on the table.
2. Use the sticks as a pencil, “drawing” with them on the tablecloth.
3. Make movements with chopsticks that resemble walking and thus allow them to “wander” inside the plate.
4. Rummage through the plate with chopsticks, looking for the best pieces. Food is always taken from above.

In all restaurants of oriental cuisine the following is unacceptable:

• Take food by sticking it on sticks.
• Place the bitten piece back on the plate: everything you took with chopsticks should be immediately put into your mouth.
• Cool food by vigorously waving waribashi chopsticks over it.
• Pointing chopsticks at someone.
• Putting waribashi in your mouth and holding it there for no reason.
• Lick the warbashi and wave them around.
• Rearrange dishes using chopsticks. Any dishes and cutlery should be handled by hand.
• Give the chopsticks a vertical position by sticking them into the food. The fact is that in the East, incense sticks dedicated to the dead are installed in a similar way.

What not to do when in a Japanese restaurant

1. Never clench your hand with a waribashi into a fist: among the Japanese this is considered an expression of threat.
2. Transferring food with your chopsticks to someone else's plate or transferring food from one chopstick to another is one of the most strictly taboo gestures. In Japan, a similar action is used during the ritual of placing the bones of a cremated person into a funeral urn. It is performed by close relatives of the deceased.

Video instructions on how to properly use chopsticks