Who would of thought of using two sticks as a form of utensils to pick up your food?  For those not born of Asian descent, using chopsticks can be a struggle and down right a learning experience.  Why would we even try to use one if we did not have to?  Well, for one thing, if you like the Sushi scene or just love Chinese Takeouts or Chinese Restaurants you will definitely be exposed to chopsticks whether you like it or not.  At sushi restaurants, you can either use your hand to put a sushi roll in your mouth, which is far faster and easier but will awkwardly look like a foreigner and uncool.  So pure pressure sets in and you decide to try to pretend you know how to use one.  The harder you try the more the food will roll off the sticks.  Same scenario with the Chinese Food.  Due to social scrutiny we will secretly practice using the chopsticks at home.  We discreetly take a few of those disposable free chopsticks home and watch all those YouTube videos on “how to hold a chopstick”.  The next time you meet up with your friend, you will be a pro at it.

Who invented chopsticks anyway?  Well, lets look way back, in Chinese history, all the way back to 1200 B.C.  The Chinese started making chopsticks then but it was not made popular quite yet until after A.D. 500 that it was widely spread across Asia.  During these times in China, many philosophers emerged, one of them was a man named “Confucius”.  He was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher.  Also a Vegetarian who did not like violence and war, therefore he was famous for his teachings and quotes that help to improve humanity.  His teachings reflect what is called the Golden Rule. In the words of Confucius: “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”  Smart guy for his time.  Some of his quotes are still widely used today.  His strong influence in Asia helped spread the use of the chopstick since he did not want any knives or sharp utensils used and preferred the use of the chopstick instead.

Another factor that played into the widespread usage of chopstick is the fast population growth in China.  As China’s population grew things started to get scarce as a result cooks started to cut up meats to smaller sizes to control portions.  This method soon became known as the Chinese style of cooking “stir fry”.  Chopsticks were used as cooking utensils during this population growth.

Well, that was a bit of Asian history and Culture you can use next time you are eating Sushi or Chinese Food.  A good conversation starter at parties.  So with the rich history of China, chopsticks were used all across the Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Japan.  When we talk about chopsticks we first associate it to either Chinese or Japanese chopstick even though the roots came from China.  The Japanese has embraced the usage of chopstick so well that you would of thought it’s root came from Japan.  As with their food, the Japanese take great detail on making chopstick as artistic affair.   The Japanese made it sexy to hold a chopstick and eat Sushi.  If you ever visit a Japanese boutique where chopsticks are sold you will find yourself looking at many colors, designs and materials that the chopsticks come in.  To Japanese, chopsticks represent an art form, an utensil that is an artistic extension to their food.  As for Chinese, it is more of a efficient tool to pick up small food pieces.

We sell thousands of our chopsticks on our online store and the question that always comes up is “What is the difference between a Japanese Chopstick and a Chinese Chopstick?”

Let’s break down the answer for you.

They are longer than other styles at about 9.8″, thicker, with squared or rounded sides and ending in either wide, blunt, flat tips or tapered point

  They are shorter length sticks tapering to a finely pointed and are traditionally made of wood or bamboo and are lacquered.

Let’s compare the difference

The more decorated ones will always represent the Japanese style chopstick.

A little insider note

Only the upper class society would use silver/metal chopsticks They believed that the silver would corrode and turn black if it came into contact with poisoned food.

(I guess they were afraid that they would be poisoned and killed for their wealth)

Now lets get down right to it.  Are you ready to learn how to use a chopstick?

For the short cut tutorial—- Let’s watch the video tutorial.

Yes, patience is all you need to get it right.  If you decided to give up because using chopsticks is just not your thing, how about using it for something a little different?  See what useful things a pair of chopstick can do.

Hairstyle Trend Setters:

Now those hairstyles are just a few ideas to give your chopsticks some versatility and usage.  If you use chopsticks for eating, or setting hair trends you can’t go wrong with owning a pair.

See our online store for chopsticks to get your own pair or to give to someone.  Until next time, Happy Gift Giving !