The chopstick is a culinary utensil that is used by billions of people across the globe on a daily basis. Rich in history, these utensils have an interesting past. The Chinese have been wielding chopsticks since at least 1200 B.C., and by A.D. 500 the slender batons had swept the Asian continent from Vietnam to Japan. From their humble beginnings as cooking utensils to paper-wrapped bamboo sets at the sushi counter, there’s more to chopsticks than meets the eye. Did you know that if it weren’t for wheat, we might not have the chopstick today?

Let’s find out more…

Why wheat?

Due to the increasing appeal of wheat during 1st century China, chopsticks gained serious leverage as they started the route to knocking the spoon of its perch. Fast-forward some nine centuries and we find wheat has now been successful in dethroning millet as the most consumed grain in the northern region of China, with the Koreans also following suit.

Wheat flour foods, dumplings and noodles, for example, were created using a combination of grain and non-grain foods in one form, and with the consumption of noodles being far more practical with chopsticks due to the spoon not able to lift them, the utensil further cemented itself at the top of the tree. The prevalence of the chopstick transformed their status into the more widely-opted for eating implement. Furthermore, studies have suggested that chopsticks were used by Medieval Turks to eat “macaroni,” thought to be due to Mongol influence.

Humble origins

The fabled ruins of Yin, in Henan province, gave people the earliest examples of Chinese writing. But the Yin ruins weren’t finished there, they also showed the first glimpses of known chopsticks too. Bronze sets discovered in tombs at the site amazed archaeologists. The humble chopstick offered the ability to reach deep into boiling pots of water or oil, therefore were predominantly used for cooking. However, it wasn't until A.D. 400 that people actually turned to the chopstick as an eating utensil.

A huge increase in China’s population meant resources took a hit and therefore cooks were forced to come up with method of cost-saving. The first step was to chop food into smaller pieces that required less fuel for cooking, also making the chopstick inadvertently more practical in the process. As food moved on to its new reduced size, chopsticks became more prevalent, damning knives to further obscurity.

Confucius - a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher - was another factor in the ascension of the chopstick. A keen vegetarian, he was of the thinking that sharp utensils at the dinner table would be reminiscent of the slaughterhouse for eaters. He also considered that the sharp point of knives conjured up thoughts of violence and warfare, removing the happy, contended mood that should come hand in hand with dining and eating in general. His teachings resonated and helped make chopstick use a widespread choice throughout Asia.

Further popularity

As chopsticks became the norm, different cultures soon started to adopt the utensil and fashioned their own individual styles. In what many consider a doff of the cap to Confucius, Chinese chopsticks featured a blunt end as opposed to a pointed end.

Japanese versions of chopsticks were designed to be 8 inches long for males and 7 inches long for the females, which is thought to be to accommodate the differing size hands in the sexes. Japan continued to innovate, and in 1878 they became the first to create the now-worldwide known disposable set. These sets can usually be found made from bamboo or wood. For the wealthier diners, brass, coral, ivory, jade, or agate versions were used. And there was even a step up from these lavish sets, with the most privileged Japanese people eating with silver versions of the chopstick. Silver was chosen as the utmost material as it was considered that silver had the ability to corrode and turn black if it came into contact with poisoned food.

The rice and the chopstick

The chopstick has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with another staple of Asian cuisine throughout the ages. We are of course talking about rice. To the untrained eye, it might seem as though eating rice with chopsticks is not a natural option, with the utensil being far better suited to some types of food more than others (like noodles). However, in Asian countries, most rice is of the short or medium-grain variety, and it is the starches in these varieties of rice that help to create a cooked product that is gummy and clumpy, unlike the Western-style fluffy and distinct grains of rice. Oriental rice and chopsticks go hand in hand and make the perfect match.

So now you know the beginnings and progression of the chopstick we all enjoy today, and we hope that you can pass your new-found knowledge on when you are next enjoying some tasty Asian cuisine.