Chopsticks illustrate an ancient history that dates 5,000 years ago in China. One historian argues that their use developed because ancient Chinese cooked food in large pots and "hasty eaters broke twigs off trees to retrieve the food" (History 1). The pots were large and held heat for long periods of time, so two sticks would permit eaters to get close enough to the pot and retrieve food without burning themselves. Fuel shortages altered food preparation methods around 400 B.C., when the Chinese began cutting food into small pieces for more rapid cooking (History 1). Since the food pieces were small, knives became unnecessary, and chopsticks became "staple utensils" in Chinese society (History 1). Wood (1) maintains some influence for the widespread adoption of chopsticks in Chinese society may be due to Confucius who maintained that since knives were "weapons of death, only a barbarian would bring one to the table to eat." The spread of Buddhism and adoption of the concept of nonviolence in China also influenced the popularity of chopsticks. The mainly vegetarian diet of the Chinese also influenced the shape or design of chopsticks compared to the boney-fish diet and different design of Japanese chopsticks that emerged.
Chopsticks are prevalent in many cultures like China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. A pair of sticks, chopsticks is maneuvered in one hand, between the thumb and fingers and, even for left-handed eaters; it is considered inappropriate form to use chopsticks in the left hand. The design and use of chopsticks often reflects significant values of the culture in which they are created or is intended to meet culture-specific needs from education of children to symbolizing the relationship between husband and wife. Eleanor Heartney (145) maintains that one recurring theme in the use of chopsticks in China is "the closeness between man and woman, symbolized by chopsticks." The earliest evidence of ...