Chinese people pay attention to chopsticks and we are proud of our chopsticks. I remember when I was a little girl, my mother asked me to practice the correct use of chopsticks. Every time I did something way, my mother hit my hands until I felt natural holding and using the chopsticks correctly. Obviously, I have been using chopsticks for many years in the way my mother taught me; you can imagine how surprised and excited I was when I traveled to Korea and saw Korean chopsticks. Although we use the same method to hold chopsticks, the appearance and the deeper culture behind the chopsticks are totally different. How is this so? Local culture changes the same item in different countries, even a small and familiar item you used every day at the table.

The Chinese term for “chopsticks” is筷子(kuàizi). The first character (筷) is a semantic-phonetic compound with a phonetic part meaning “quick” (快), and a semantic part meaning “bamboo”(竹). It used to be called 箸(Zhu) in ancient times because the primary materials of chopsticks were made out of bamboo and wood. 箸(Zhu) shares the same pronunciation as “stop” in Chinese; people don’t like the meaning “stop” and change箸(Zhu)  to筷子(kuàizi).

In Korean, 저 (Jeo) means “chopsticks”, but Jeo cannot be used alone. Usually, it is used in the compound 젓가락 (Jeotgarak) , which is composed of (Jeo) “chopsticks” and (garak) “stick.”

Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese dining culture because chopsticks have a history of thousands of years in China. According to Debra Weiner, a writer for New York Times newspaper, “No one knows for certain the origins of chopsticks, but according to experts, they were used in China as early as 400 B.C.” In other words, the Chinese people were using chopsticks approximately three thousand years ago in China.

There are two famous legends and folk customs about the origin of chopsticks. The invention of chopsticks can be traced back five thousand years ago in China, when the original purpose was used to cook. Chinese people like to eat hot and boiled food, so the purpose of chopsticks was used to stir hot foods, and to take foods out of hot liquids (“Chopsticks”, 2017 ) . The second legends of chopsticks mentioned that chopsticks started to become table utensils around Shang Dynasty (approximately 3,000 years ago). It was because China suffered from a shortage of firewood during that period. Therefore, people chopped food into smaller pieces to cook faster in order to conserve fuel caused the usage of chopsticks to increase, because chopsticks were easier to transport small pieces of food from rice bowls towards the mouth.

By 500 A.D. (approximately one thousand five hundred years ago), the use of chopsticks had spread out to other Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Many people may wondering why chopsticks become so popular in Asia. The most important reason is that tradition of food in China and Korea was already cut into small pieces. Hence, we don’t need to use knives at the table. On the other hand, rice in China and Korea is the short or medium-grain variety- unlike Western long-grain rice; the Asian rice is gummy and clumpy. That makes it convenient when chopsticks come together to lift steaming bundles of sticky rice.

Chopstick use quickly became widespread throughout Asia. However, different cultures adopted different chopstick styles. Although chopsticks were created in China, I was surprised to find that the chopsticks in Korea are different from China in terms of material used, usage, length, shapes, surface. Moreover, there are different table manners and the meaning of chopsticks.

 

Over one and half billion people eat food with chopsticks nowadays. Over many centuries, chopsticks help their users stand from the rest of the world. Chopsticks originated in China and spread to the other counties. Korea has had a long history with China, but it also developed its own cultural identity since then. In terms of chopsticks, the Koreans refashioned them in their own way. This led to significant differences between Korean chopsticks and Chinese chopsticks.

There are several difference of appearance in terms of:

Material

Shape

Length

As a saying goes, “one is what one eats”. I would say one is also how one eats. Table manners relate to different local culture, and were created to show politeness and respect to others. Several rules of chopstick etiquette are common between China and Korea. For example, using your chopsticks to point to other people means you look down on that person and it is rude eating behavior in both counties. Moreover, when people drop food accidentally on the table due to a lack of skill, this is “odious and even offensive in the chopsticks cultural sphere because it looks messy, unclean and unpleasant, ruining the eating environment.” (Wang, 2015) This rule is common in China and Korea, but people use a different way to prevent it.

In Chinese tradition, lowering one’s heads when eating is not allowed, for doing so reminds one of the pigs eating.  Chinese people are encouraged to lift the bowl and use chopsticks to pick up rice into their mouth. They also can move their bowls closer to the dishes in order to decrease the chance of food dropping from the chopsticks. Moreover, never use your chopsticks to hit your bowl to make any sound. In China, only beggars will use chopsticks to hit their bowl to attract people’s attention when begging for food or money. One of the most important table manners is not to stick chopsticks into your food, especially in the middle of your rice bowl. This is done only during the funeral to honor the dead. If you stick your chopsticks in the middle of a bowl, it means this food is prepared for dead people. However, raising the rice bowl and hold it in hands is prohibited in Korea, for such behavior is associated with begging. Therefore, it is acceptable for Koreans to lower their heads when eating. Koreans use the spoon to eat rice and soup, and they use chopsticks to eat dishes. One is only allowed to use one of them at a time. Instead, China only uses chopsticks. If some dishes are hard to pick up, you can use both the spoon and the chopsticks in your hands.

In China, chopsticks are a symbol of inseparableness since chopsticks are always used in pairs. Hence, chopsticks are a favorite gift for the new couples. Chinese words for chopsticks is “kuaizi”. “kuai” means “quick” and “Zi” also take on the meaning of “son” or “child” in Chinese. Chopsticks represent the best wishes to newlyweds “having a child/son quickly” in China. In addition, to ensure the couple’s inseparableness, the two sticks must have the same length and smooth surface, showing the hope of the couple’s perfect “match” and have a “smooth” life forever.

There is a poem to describe a love story by using chopsticks:

Our lengths are the same,

Just as the sameness of our hearts; Bitter or sweet,

We spend our life together. Having tasted it all,

We always live side by side.

One knows the other;

Our intimacy is so seamless,

No space even for a single word.   

(Wang, 2015)

It is unusual to give chopsticks as a gift in Korean culture since chopsticks don’t have the same meaning as Chinese. Chopsticks show a symbol of the environment protection hygiene in Korea. Korean chopsticks can be washed and reused since they are made out of metal.

Since China has a long history, Chinese people tend to link give the chopsticks cultural meanings. For example, the shape of chopsticks refer to the concept of heaven and earth. That makes chopsticks have cultural values beyond the two wood slice.  However, Korean people tend to focus more on realistic issue; the design of chopsticks do not have some cultural symbols- just prevent chopsticks from falling to the ground. Due to the different eating habit,  the different main functions of chopsticks are changed in two countries. Chinese people use chopsticks to pick up almost all dishes, but Korea only use chopsticks to food except rice. Both two countries are take table environment seriously when using chopsticks, and they all think  certain table behavior associated with begging is considered bad manners. China are is allowed to lower one’s head when using chopsticks, but Korea consider that lift the bowl is impolite.

Although people from different countries use the same object and  hold the same basic rules, they will lead to a different way because of different traditional culture. When Denice Frohman mentioned her mother’s accent, she said,” Her accent is a stubborn compass always pointing her towards home.”  Cultural diversity makes chopsticks have different appearance, table manner, and meaning in China and Korea, but different chopsticks also point towards the countries where they were created.

 

 

 

 

Reference

Chopsticks. (2017). Wikipedia. Retrieves from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks.

Dumpling. (Dec 2, 2016). Chopsticks: Chinese VS. Japanese VS. Korean. Youtube. Retrieves from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyevVQ1Dubc.

Differences Between Japanese, Chinese and Korean Chopsticks. POGOGI Japanese Food. Retrieves from https: //pogogi.com/differences-between-japanese-chinese-and-korean-chopsticks.

Five different between Korean and Chinese chopsticks (2016). Disposable Catering Supplies & Bamboo Restaurant Products, Retrieves from https://www.pandabambu.com/five-different-between-korean-and-chinese-chopsticks/.

Hardesty, S. C. (2007). The quest for food: a natural history of eating. Choice: Current Reviews For Academic Libraries, 45(3), 489.

Hung Ming.(2015) . Influence of Chopstick Size on Taste Evaluations. Psychological Reports, 116(2), 381-387.

Wang, Q. E. (2015). Chopsticks: a cultural and culinary history. Cambridge University Press.