Chinese Utensils

Chopsticks made of wood, plastic, bamboo, or steel have been used in China for thousands of years. Used as early as 1766 B.C. in the Shang Dynasty, chopsticks were first used for cooking. It wasn’t until the Han Dynasty that chopsticks became the primary eating utensil for the Chinese people. Since its creation, chopstick use has spread from mainland China to Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and other countries.

Chinese soupspoons are also noticeably different from Western soup spoons. Chinese soupspoons tend to have a deep flat bowl attached to a short fat handle. Because these spoons have wider sides, Chinese spoons have the ability to hold much more liquid than their Western counterparts and are often used in conjunction with chopsticks when eating noodles, dumplings, or other foods in soups.

Quick Facts

• The English word “chopstick” is rumored to have stemmed from the meaning “chop-chop” as in “quickly." In Chinese, the word is “kuai-zi," translating to “quick” and “bamboo”
• Silver-tipped chopsticks were often used by wealthy families as a luxury. They were also believed to have turned black when they came in contact with poison
• The Chinese word for chopsticks, “kuai-zi," is also a homonym for good sentiments one might wish upon someone else in the near future