Chopsticks

Chopsticks were invented in neolithic China before the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE) and most likely much earlier prior to establishment of the Xia dynasty sometime around 9000 years ago. The earliest evidence were six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 cm (10 inches) long and 1.1 to 1.3 cm (0.43 to 0.51 inches) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang (Henan) and dated roughly to 1200 BCE; those were supposed to be used for cooking. The earliest known extant textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE. The first chopsticks were probably used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or seizing bits of food, and not as eating utensils. Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han dynasty. Chopsticks were considered more lacquerware-friendly than other sharp eating utensils. . But from ancient to Tang dynasty (618-907), the dominant grain in North China was millet, a hardy crop suitable for the region's climate. Unlike cooked rice, which is sticky and can be moved in globs, millet is best cooked as porridge, which, as recommended by Chinese ritual texts, made the spoon a better tool in transporting it. Chopsticks, by comparison, were then mostly used to pick up foodstuffs from a soupy dish, such as a stew It was not until the Ming dynasty that chopsticks came into normal use for both serving and eating. They then acquired the name kuaizi and the present shape.