1 . Chopsticks, or kuaizi in Chinese, are a pair of small equal-length tapered sticks, usually made of wood, used for eating Asian food. It is believed the first chopsticks were developed over 5,000 years ago in China. The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks made out of bronze was excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang, Henan province, dating back to roughly 1,200 BC.

Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture.     1    . They are round on the eating end which symbolizes heaven, and the other end is square which symbolizes earth. This is because maintaining an adequate food supply is the greatest concern between heaven and earth.

There is an old Chinese custom making chopsticks part of a girl’s dowry, since the pronunciation of kuaizi is similar to the words for “quick” and “son”.

Chopsticks are so frequently used in daily life that they have become more than a kind of tableware and have fostered a set of etiquette and customs of their own.     2    . While the principles of chopstick etiquette are similar in many of these places, the finer points may differ from region to region, and there is no single standard for the use of chopsticks. Generally, chopsticks are not used to make noise, to draw attention, or to gesticulate.

    3    . For example, you can buy a pair of exquisite chopsticks as a gift for your friends and relatives. In Chinese, ‘chopsticks’ reads ‘kuaizi’, which means to have sons soon, so a newly-married couple will be very happy to accept chopsticks as their wedding gift. Skillful craftsmen paint beautiful scenery on chopsticks to make them like fine artwork. Many people love to collect these elegant utensils.

It has been said that using chopsticks improves one’s memory, increases finger dexterity and can be useful in learning and improving skills such as Chinese character printing and brush painting. Many Asian superstitions revolve around chopsticks as well. For example, if you find an uneven part of chopsticks at your table setting, it is believed you will miss the next train, boat or plane you are trying to catch.     4    .