chopsticks (made from bronze) were retrieved from an excavation of Yin Ruin's Tomb dated 1200 B.C. (Chopsticks 1). This analysis will focus on the design of chopsticks, their use across different cultures in different times, and how materials and design and use of them differ in different cultures in Asia. A conclusion will address the ongoing popularity of chopsticks and culture's diverse influence on their design, use and space.
The design of chopsticks is relatively simple and has been basically the same for thousands of years. Two pieces of tapered wood or other material are used to fashion chopsticks, though one form is carved or made from a single piece of wood. There are two basic forms of chopsticks other than the longer, thicker variety used in wok cooking or to stir big pots of noodles or soup; "mobile" and "immobile." The typical pair of chopsticks measure 7" to 10" and are two single tapered sticks, while the immobile form are carved out of a single piece of material and resemble a pair of tweezers or pinchers (History 1). Children's chopsticks are shorter in length and often convey whimsical images or those from popular culture appealing to youngsters. The mobile form of chopsticks is the most popular and the focus of this analysis.
Despite their relative simplicity, chopsticks are designed out of nearly every kind of material imaginable, including Japanese yew wood chopsticks parked on a chopstick rest seen in the image below:
Chopsticks are made out of various materials including wood, metal, ivory, bone, jade, plastic, and others. The wealthy in many societies have used chopsticks fashioned of gold, silver and bronze, but the most popular material for chopsticks is bamboo because of its unique properties. As one historian notes, "Bamboo has been the most popular material because it is inexpensive, readily available, easy to split, resistant to heat, and has no perceptible odor or tas...