What are the irreducible falsifiable ways to reduce chopstick use and improve bamboo fields improve gorilla counts throughout the world as part of a Zeus See in light of the last 2600 years there was desertification on 8% to 14% of the planet that includes the Sahara Desert which there were inland lakes there before. The Sahara Desert was Green. There’s 33% deserts today and something must be done.

we empathize and listen about chopstick use for ways to use less so Gorillas and Gorilla babies can eat more bamboo. Originating in China, chopsticks later spread to other parts of the HYPOTHETICAL CONSTRUCT Sinosphere WHICH IS THE PINE2XCONFUCIAN CASTE SYSTEM INCLUDING THE PEJORATIVES BY WENDY CHUA OR YE JUNG OR EARL SUN THAT FAILED OMEGA12 AS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THE USE OF CHOPSTICKS WENT CONFUCIUS IN HYPOTHETICAL THING “CHINESE RESTAURANTS” WHICH ARE ACTUALLY FUJIAN OR SICHUAN BUT ARE USED IN THE OTTOMAN SINKIANG OTTOMAN GREENHUIA LESS THAN KWANGTUNG (IS LIKE 1,000,000,000 homosapiens) OR MANCHURIA WHERE KWANTUNG IS MUCH LARGER POPULATION -  THERE ARE CHOPSTICKS IN Korea WHICH ARE MANCHURIAN OR NORTHKOREAORSOUTH KOREA, Japan COULD CHOOSE FORKSSPOONSKNIVESWHERE IT IS 100,000,000HOMOSAPIENS, Thailand and Vietnam COULDCHOOSE FORKSSPOONSKNIVES. Chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with East Asian food in the West, especially in cities with significant East Asian diasporacommunities. The use of chopsticks has also spread to the Southeast Asia either via the Chinese diaspora or through some dishes such as noodles that may require chopsticks.[citation needed]

Chopsticks are smoothed, and frequently tapered. They are traditionally made of PLASTIC STAINLESS STEEL METAL CERAMICS wood, IVORY bamboo DECLINATION, and in modern days, increasingly available in non-traditional materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and even titanium. Chopsticks are often seen as requiring practice and skill to master to be used as an eating utensil. In some countries, failing to follow etiquette in their use is frowned upon, though such feelings are generally lesser than they once were.  BAMBOO IS FOOD FOR GORILLA WHO EATS 18 KG per day and MAKES RAINFOREST - BAMBOO IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE UTENSIL AS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING - 70% OF THE RAINFORESTS WERE LOST IN LIKE 152 YEARS  - BAMBOO IS FOOD FOR GORILLA WHO EATS 18 KG per day and MAKES RAINFOREST - BAMBOO IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE UTENSIL AS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING - THERE IS EMPTY FOREST SYNDROME WITH TOO MUCH FESCUE GRASS AND SHEEPZOTHEADBEATER A RUMINANT TRYING TO DO HUNTING BUT ISNT BECAUSE ITS MERELY CUSSING EMPTY FOREST SYNDROME THAT THE FORESTS BECAME NON-RELIANT NON-SELF AS FORESTS EMPTIED THAT SHEEPZOTHEADBEATER WAS THE TYRANT OR GANDHI WAS THE TYRANT OR PINE3X WAS THE TYRANT OR WIEKGAIAROAXHZOTS WERE THE TYRANT OR SIDDHARTHA GAUTAUMA WAS THE TYRANT OR PINE2XCONFUCIOUS WAS THE TYRANT AS SO DRETACEOUS WHICH WAS IT AS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

There’s 200 chopsticks in $19.99 and that’s $0.10 each which TITANIUMCHOPSTICKS ARE ONLY $19.99 AND LAST WAY LONGER THAN 200 USES WAY LONGER THAN 2000 USES WAY LONGER THAN 20000 USES SO ITS STUPID AND ETHNICALLY STUPID TO NOT USE TITANIUM CHOPSTICKS

Origin and history

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See also: List of Chinese inventions

Chopsticks have been around and used since at least the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE). However, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qianwrote that it is likely that chopsticks were also used in the preceding Xia dynasty and even the earlier Erlitou culture, although finding archeological evidence from this era is difficult.[1]

The earliest evidence of chopsticks uncovered so far consists of six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 centimeters (10 in) long, and 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters (0.43 to 0.51 in) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang(Henan). These are dated roughly to 1200 BC, during the Shang dynasty. They were supposed to have been used for cooking.[2][3][4] The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei(c. 280–233 BC) in the 3rd century BC.[5]

The wide diffusion of chopsticks in the Chinese culture is sometimes attributed to the Confucian philosophy that emphasizes family harmony as the basis for civil order.[6] Some modern writers have associated chopsticks with traditional Confucian values of moderation, civility, and nonviolence. For example, it is sometimes said that "knives are for warriors, but chopsticks are for scholars", a modern aphorism that reflects symbolic interpretations of dining customs. However, this phrase does not appear in any known classical Confucian texts, and there is no historical evidence that Confucius made this statement.

Similarly, a popular quote attributed to Mencius—"The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen[7] ... and he allows no knives on his table"—only partially reflects classical writings. The first part is a paraphrase of a real line from the Mencius (Liang Hui Wang I), but the latter sentence is a modern addition not found in ancient texts. As such, attributions of this kind should be understood as contemporary interpretations rather than direct quotations from Confucian sources. Confucius' reference to chopsticks in his Book of Rites suggests these items were widely known in the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC).[8]

As cooking utensils

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Silver chopsticks, spoon, and bowl from the Song dynasty (960–1279)

The first chopsticks were used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or seizing bits of food, and not as eating utensils. One reason was that before the Han dynasty, millet was predominant in North China, Korea and parts of Japan. While chopsticks were used for cooking, millet porridge was eaten with spoons at that time.[9]: 29–35  The use of chopsticks in the kitchen continues to this day.

Ryōribashi (料理箸) are Japanese kitchen chopsticks used in Japanese cuisine. They are used in the preparation of Japanese food, and are not designed for eating. These chopsticks allow handling of hot food with one hand, and are used like regular chopsticks. These chopsticks have a length of 30 centimeters (12 in) or more, and may be looped together with a string at the top. They are usually made from bamboo. For deep frying, however, metal chopsticks with bamboo handles are preferred, as tips of regular bamboo chopsticks become discolored and greasy after repeated use in hot oil. The bamboo handles protect against heat.

Similarly, Vietnamese cooks use Đũa cả (𥮊奇) or "grand chopsticks" in cooking, and for serving rice from the pot.[10]

As cooking thermometers

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When a wetted end of a wooden chopstick is dipped into cooking oil, a sizzling sound due to bubbles bursting indicates that the temperature is suitable for deep-frying. Instead, loud popping or crackling implies that the temperature is too high, whereas silence implies that it is too low.[11][12]

As eating utensils

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A painting of a Japanese woman using chopsticks, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han dynasty, as rice consumption increased. During this period, spoonscontinued to be used alongside chopsticks as eating utensils at meals. It was not until the Ming dynasty that chopsticks came into exclusive use for both serving and eating. They then acquired the name kuaizi and the present shape.[13][9]: 6–8 

Propagation throughout the world

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The use of chopsticks as both cooking and eating utensils spread throughout East and Southeast Asia over time. Scholars such as Isshiki Hachiro and Lynn White have noted how the world was split among three dining customs, or food cultural spheres. There are those that eat with their fingers, those that use forks and knives, and then there is the "chopsticks cultural sphere", consisting of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.[9]: 1–3, 67–92 

As Han Chinese emigration percolated, they spread the usage of chopsticks as eating utensils to South and Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. In Singapore and Malaysia, the Han Chinese traditionally consume all food with chopsticks, while ethnic Indians and Malays(especially in Singapore) use chopsticks primarily to consume noodle dishes. Overall, the use of either chopsticks, a spoon, or a fork, is interchangeable in these regions.[14][15] In Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal chopsticks are generally used only to consume noodles.[9]: 1–8 

Similarly, chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with East Asian cuisine around the world, in Hawaii, the West Coast of North America,[16][17] and cities with Overseas Asian communities all around the globe.

The earliest European reference to chopsticks comes in the Portuguese Suma Oriental by Tomé Pires, who wrote in 1515 in Malacca: "They [the Chinese] eat with two sticks and the earthenware or china bowl in their left hand close to the mouth, with the two sticks to suck in. This is the Chinese way."[18]

Naming in different countries

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In ancient written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was zhu (箸; Middle Chinesereconstruction: d̪jwo-). Although it may have been widely used in ancient vernacular Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character kuài (快), meaning "quick". The original character, though still used in writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Mandarin. It, however, is preserved in Chinese languages such as Hokkien and Teochew, as the Min Chineselanguages are directly descended from Old Chinese rather than Middle Chinese.

The Standard Chinese term for chopsticks is kuàizi (筷子). The first character (筷) is a pictophonetic (semantic-phonetic) compound created with a phonetic part meaning "quick" (快), and a semantic part meaning "bamboo" (竹), using the radical (⺮).[19][20]

The English word "chopstick" may have derived from Chinese Pidgin English, in which chop chop meant "quickly".[21][22][23]According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest published use of the word is in the 1699 book Voyages and Descriptions by William Dampier: "they are called by the English seamen Chopsticks".[24] Another possibility is that the term is derived from chow (or chow chow), which is also a pidgin word stemming from Southeast Asia meaning "food". Thus chopsticks would simply mean "food sticks".

In Tibetan, chopsticks are called "kho-ze" ཁོ་ཙེ.

In Japanese, chopsticks are called hashi (箸). A common misconception is that they are referred as otemoto (おてもと), a phrase commonly on the wrappers of disposable chopsticks. Te means hand and moto means the area under or around something. The preceding o is used for politeness. Otemoto therefore can refer to any small plate or serving utensil placed at a serving table.

In Okinawan, chopsticks are called mēshi (めーし) as a vulgar word,[25] umēshi (うめーし) as a polite word,[26] or 'nmēshi ぅんめーし(御箸[citation needed], ʔNmeesi).[27] A special type of chopsticks made from the himehagi (Polygala japonica) stem is called sōrō 'nmēshi (そーろーぅんめーし, sooroo ʔNmeesi精霊御箸[citation needed]). These are used at altars of offerings in Kyū Bon (old Bon Festival).[28]

In Korean, 저 (箸, jeo) is used in the compound jeotgarak (젓가락), which is composed of jeo("chopsticks") and garak ("stick"). Jeo cannot be used alone, but can be found in other compounds such as sujeo (수저; "spoon and chopsticks").

In Taiwanese Hokkien, which is derived from Hokkien, chopsticks are called tī, written as 箸.[29]

In Vietnamese, chopsticks are called đũa, which is written as 箸 in Chữ Nôm. Đũa is the non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of 箸. An alternative character is 𥮊.

In Mongolian, chopsticks are called savkhwhich is written as савх in Cyrillic and as ᠰᠠᠤᠬᠠ in the Mongolian script.

In Cambodian (Khmer), chopsticks are called chang keuh (ចង្កឹះ).

In such Malay-speaking countries, in Indonesian, chopsticks are called sumpit , from Baba Malay sumpit, from Hokkien 栓筆／栓笔(sng-pit, “holding pin”). In Borneo, bamboo chopsticks called candas. In Malaysia they may be called penyepit.

Chopsticks come in a wide variety of styles, with differences in geometry and material. Depending on the country and the region some chopstick styles are more common than others.

• Length: Chopsticks range from 23 to 26 centimeters (9–10 in) long, tapering to one end. Very long, large chopsticks, usually about 30 to 40 centimeters (12–16 in), are used for cooking, especially for deep frying foods.

• Cross-section: Chopsticks may have round, square, hexagonal, or other polygonal cross-sections. Usually the edges are rounded off so there are no sharp 90° surface angles in square chopsticks. Korean chopsticks are notable for having flat handles, instead of regular full bodies as in Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese chopsticks.

• Taper: Chopsticks are usually tapered in the end used for picking up food. Chinese and Vietnamese chopsticks are more commonly blunt, while Japanese ones tend to be sharp and pointed in style. Korean chopsticks typically have sharp tapers.

• Tips: Some chopsticks have a rough surface for the tip end, to provide better friction for gripping food. The gripping surfaces may be carved as circumferential grooves, or provided as a rough texture.

• Material: A large variety of materials is available, including bamboo, wood, plastic, metal, bone, jade, porcelain, and ivory.

  • Bamboo and wooden chopsticks are relatively inexpensive, low in thermal conduction, and provide good grip for holding food. They can warp and deteriorate with continued use if they are of the unvarnished or unlacquered variety. Almost all cooking and disposable chopsticks are made of bamboo or wood. Disposable unlacquered chopsticks are used especially in restaurants. These often come as a piece of wood that is partially cut and must be split into two chopsticks by the user (serving as proof that they have not been previously used). In Japanese, these disposable implements are known as waribashi (割り箸)

  • Plastic chopsticks are relatively inexpensive, low in thermal conduction, and resistant to wear. Melamine is one of the more commonly used plastics for chopsticks. Plastic chopsticks are not as effective as wood and bamboo for picking up food, because they tend to be slippery. Also, plastic chopsticks cannot be used for cooking, since high temperatures may damage the chopsticks and produce toxic compounds.

  • Metal chopsticks are durable and easy to clean, but present a slippery surface. Stainless steel is a common metal used to make chopsticks, but titanium chopsticks can be purchased at prices comparable to a good pair of wooden chopsticks. Silver is still common among wealthy families, and as part of gift sets.

  • Other materials such as ivory, jade, gold, and silver are typically chosen for luxury. Silver-tipped chopsticks were often used as a precaution by wealthy people, based on the myth that silver would turn black upon contact with poison.[30]

• Embellishments: Wooden or bamboo chopsticks can be painted or lacquered for decoration and waterproofing. Metal chopsticks are sometimes roughened or scribed to make them less slippery. Higher-priced metal chopstick pairs are sometimes connected by a short chain at the untapered end to prevent their separation.

Sinosphere

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China

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Chinese chopsticks tend to be longer than other styles, at about 27 centimeters (11 in). They are thicker, with squared or rounded cross-sections. They end in either wide, blunt, flat tips or tapered pointed tips. Blunt tips are more common with plastic or melaminevarieties, whereas pointed tips are more common in wood and bamboo varieties. Chinese restaurants more commonly offer melamine chopsticks for its durability and ease of sanitation. Within individual household, bamboo chopsticks are more commonly found.

Japan

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Chopsticks made of Japanese yew wood, on a chopstick rest

Hashi (for eating) and saibashi (for cooking, shown below)

It is common for Japanese sticks to be of shorter length for women, and children's chopsticks in smaller sizes are common. Many Japanese chopsticks have circumferential grooves at the eating end, which helps prevent food from slipping. Japanese chopsticks are typically sharp and pointed, in order to dissect fish and seafood. They are traditionally made of wood or bamboo, and are lacquered.

Lacquered chopsticks are known in Japanese as nuribashi, in several varieties, depending on where they are made and what types of lacquers are used in glossing them.[9]: 80–87 Japanese traditional lacquered chopsticks are produced in the city of Obama in Fukui Prefecture, and come in many colors coated in natural lacquer. They are decorated with mother-of-pearl from abalone, and with eggshell to impart a waterproof coating to the chopsticks, extending their life.[31]

Edo Kibashi chopsticks have been made by Tokyo craftspeople since the beginning of the Taishō period (1912–1926) roughly 100 years ago. These chopsticks use high-grade wood (ebony, red sandalwood, ironwood, Japanese box-trees, or maple), which craftspeople plane by hand.[32] Edo Kibashi chopsticks may be pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal in cross-section. The tips of these chopsticks are rounded to prevent damage to the dish or the bowl.[33]

In Japan, chopsticks for cooking are known as ryoribashi (料理箸 りょうりばし),[34] and as saibashi (菜箸 さいばし) when used to transfer cooked food to the dishes it will be served in.[35]

Korea

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Bronze spoons and chopstick sets of different designs excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong of Baekje (501–523)

Bronze chopsticks (Goryeo dynasty, 918–1392)

The earliest uses of chopsticks in Korea seem to date back to the Three Kingdoms of Koreawith the oldest chopsticks excavated from the royal tomb of Baekje.[36] Chopsticks used by Koreans are often made of metal. It is believed that the uses of metallic chopsticks evolved from the royal practice of using silver chopsticks to detect poison in food, but the exact reason is debated.[37] Depending on the historical era, the metallic composition of Korean chopsticks varied. In the past, such as during the Goryeo era, chopsticks were made of bronze. During the Joseon era, chopsticks used by royalty were made of silver, as its oxidizing properties could often be used to detect whether or not food intended for royals had been tampered with. In the present day, the majority of Korean metal chopsticks are made of stainless steel. Due to metal's slippery nature, the chopsticks are stamped flat for better gripping.[37] High-end sets, such as those intended as gifts, are often made of sterling silver. Chopsticks made of varying woods (typically bamboo) are also common in Korea. Many Korean chopsticks are ornately decorated at the grip.

In North and South Korea, chopsticks of medium-length with a small, flat rectangular shape are paired with a spoon, made of the same material. The set is called sujeo, a portmanteau of the Korean words for spoon and chopsticks. This (the historical extensive use of a spoon in addition to chopsticks) is also a feature unique to Korea; most chopstick-using countries have either eliminated the use of spoons, or have limited their use as eating utensils. It is traditional to rest sujeo on spoon and chopstick rest, so chopsticks and the spoon do not touch the table surface.

In the past, materials for sujeo varied with social class: Sujeo used in the court were made with gold, silver, or cloisonné, while commoners used brass or wooden sujeo. Today, sujeo is usually made with stainless steel, although bangjja is also popular in more traditional settings.

Vietnam

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Đũa cả, a type of Vietnamese chopsticks used to scoop rice. In the photo is the Đũa cả artifact of the Chứt people.

Forks and chopsticks in a Vietnamese restaurant in France

Vietnamese chopsticks are long sticks that taper to a blunt point. They are usually big and thick at one end and thinner at the other, thin ends are often used to pick up food. They are traditionally made of bamboo[38] or lacquered wood. Today, plastic chopsticks are also used due to their durability. However, bamboo or wooden chopsticks are often more used in the village countryside. Vietnam has a number of specialized chopsticks for cooking and stirring rice such as đũa cả (lit. main chopsticks) are large, flat chopsticks used to serve rice from a pot and there is a specialized type of chopsticks for stir-frying, they are usually 10–20 cm longer than normal chopsticks called đũa xào (lit. chopsticks for sautéed foods).

Outsite of Sinosphere

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Mongolia

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Mongolian chopsticks were usually made of bones, and their tips were covered with silver, every rich man kept the chopsticks in a sheath. At the same time, sticks were not often used directly for eating, being, for the most part, an element of decor and confirmation of the status of the carrier. Apart from the Khalkha Mongols and Mongols from Inner Mongolia of China, chopsticks have also been found in old traditional Buryat and Kalmyk knives' sets.[citation needed]

Mongolian knife set

Later, the Mongols also adopted chopsticks for dining. Archaeological evidence from the 1970s to late 1980s reveals murals in two tombs—likely belonging to either Khitan or Mongol nobility—depicting a serving maid holding a large bowl in her left hand and a pair of chopsticks in her right, as if preparing to stir food for her master. These findings demonstrate that after conquering China in the late 13th century, the Mongols gradually assimilated chopsticks into their culinary customs, blending them with traditional nomadic utensils like knives.[39]

Thailand

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Historically, Thais tended to use their hands when eating their native cuisine. Ethnic Chinese immigrants introduced chopsticks for foods that require them. Restaurants serving other Asian cuisines that utilize chopsticks use the style of chopstick, if any, appropriate for that cuisine. Fork and spoon, adopted from the West, are now the most commonly used.[40]

Borneo/Malaysia/Indonesia etc.

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Learn more

This section does not cite any sources.(October 2024)

In Malay-speaking countries, there may be several names for chopsticks. In Borneo, bamboo chopsticks called candas are used to eat ambuyat or linut in Borneo, a native staple food of glutinous porridge made from sago. A pair of candas is typically adjoined at the back. In Indonesian chopsticks may be called sumpit. In Malaysia they may be called penyepit.Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.