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How to Use Chopsticks
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The earliest chopsticks
were probably made of bamboo. Some esthete then
may have whittled himself a pair of fine hardwood
chopsticks, and a later esthete, perhaps a Croesus,
thought of using ivory. There were many trials of
other cherished materials, amber and jade among
them, but several centuries ago chopsticks made
of silver and ivory were an accepted status symbol
at any rich man’s table. They were also on occasion
a silent proof of his good faith. In those days
a
lord who wanted to rid himself of a number of enemies
might polish them off all at once by inviting them
to a fine dinner, one of whose dishes had been poisoned.
Since it was believed that silver would turn black
in the presence of poison, and threat ivory in the
same circumstances would fly to pieces, guests whose
chopsticks remained whole and untarnished could
be easy in their minds and eat their fill. One wonders
how many people nearly died of heart attacks when
they dug into egg dishes with their silver sticks
and saw the silver blacken.
In a Chinese
household wealthy enough to use ivory chopsticks,
they are treated with great care. Ivory should not
be subjected to extreme heat: Heat yellows and warps
the material, so chopsticks of ivory must be carefully
washed in lukewarm water and thoroughly dried. In
more general use are inexpensive chopsticks of bamboo
or wood that can be bought in bundles of pairs:
10 is the usual number when one buys bowls, spoons
and teacups, since that is the maximum number of
persons ordinarily seated at a single table at a
Chinese banquet.
 Chinese
will tell you that they can guess many things about
a person from the way he handles his chopsticks.
If he places them across his rice bowl between bouts
of eating, it indicates that he is a boatman, for
this is considered a good omen in navigation.. Usually,
however, placing chopsticks across the rice bowl
is simply the concluding gesture of the meal, signifying
"dinner’s over" or " I can’t eat another bite."
If the holder pushes the sticks against his stomach
to even them up instead of tapping them on the table,
chances are he is a laborer and is used to eating
out of doors, squatting on the ground. The marital
future of a baby girl can be foretold by the way
she first picks up a set of chopsticks, for if they
are grasped at the far end her husband will come
from a distant province, but if they are seized
near the eating end her husband may turn out to
be the boy next door. To drop your chopsticks means
bad luck. To find a pair of unequal length at your
place at table means that you will miss a train,
or boat, or plane.
Some of the most important
chopsticks rules are:
Never stick the chopsticks
into the food, especially not into rice. Only at
funerals are chopsticks stuck into the rice that
is put onto the altar. When you are not using the
chopsticks, put them in front of you onto the table
or a dish with the tip to the left.
Do not
spear food with your chopsticks.
Neither
point with the chopsticks to something or somebody
nor move them too much around in the air.
If you want to separate a piece of food into
two pieces with chopsticks, do it step by step in
exerting controlled pressure on your chopsticks.
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Improper use of chopsticks |
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