Chopsticks: History and Types: Chinese, Japanese and Korean
Japanese Chopsticks (top) Korean Chopsticks (middle) Chinese Chopsticks (bottom) Chopsticks are the traditional eating utensils of various East Asian countries including China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as the traditional ancient kitchen and eating utensils for over 6000 years already. History Chopsticks were invented in ancient China before the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE) and most likely much earlier prior to establishment of the Xia dynasty or sometime around 9000 years ago. Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han dynasty. Description As populations grew and resources became more scarce, people would cut food into ever smaller pieces to save on fuel, as food made in this way could be cooked quickly. Within a century the humble chopsticks had migrated to other Asian countries. Although, originally, the Japanese would only use chopsticks in certain reli