Who invented chopsticks

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All Singapore. Group Classes. Semester by the Beach. Immersion Back to Main Menu. All Immersion. Our Immersion Program. Edward Wang. Did you know that we have wheat to thank for the rise of chopsticks? Edward Wang, the author of Chopsticks , takes you on a global culinary journey. Chopsticks are ubiquitous in Asia.

This is not only the impression most visitors to the region would have but many chopsticks users today in Asia also tend to think that chopsticks are more primary than other eating utensils. Contrary to this belief, which I also shared before beginning my research for my latest book, Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History , chopsticks were not always the primary eating tools for the people in East and Southeast Asia.

Proven by both archaeological and textual evidence, the spoon was actually the earliest and most important eating implement for the people in ancient times. Millet was, and is, best cooked into porridge or gruel, for its grain size is smaller than rice. If millet were to be prepared like rice—brought to boil by applying high heat to the right amount of water, and then simmered over low heat until soft and fluffy—the millet grains on the bottom of the pot would burn while those in the middle would remain undercooked.

As millet porridge was most common, the spoon became the most convenient tool because it helped one to eat the food elegantly. Because grain food was, and is today, the most important part in a meal, the tool that transports it best also gains its primacy. This is the eighth part to our series on Myths and Legends. Again in China, this is the legend of the invention of Chopsticks. For westerners visiting China, one of the things one must learn in order to survive is to manage the use of chopsticks- a pair of small and thin sticks of the same length used as eating utensils.

They look simple, but they have as many functions as knives and forks do: picking, mixing, nipping, cutting and digging. There is a legend that tells how chopsticks were invented and how marital problems are an ancient thing. There was a historical and legendary man named Jiang Ziya in China. Obviously, he was very smart and knowledgeable.

Early Japanese chopsticks were used strictly for religious ceremonies, and were made from one piece of bamboo joined at the top, like tweezers. Contrary to the frequent Western misconception, Thais do not commonly use chopsticks. During the Chinese dynastic times, silver chopsticks were sometimes used because it was believed they would turn black if they came in contact with poisoned food. This practice must have led to some unfortunate misunderstandings—it's now known that silver has no reaction to arsenic or cyanide, but can change color if it comes into contact with garlic, onions, or rotten eggs, all of which release hydrogen sulfide.

Other chopstick lore lingers.