QUESTION:
When the Chinese began to use chopsticks as
an eating instrument is anybody's guess, but
certainly they had their initial form in the
twigs which the primitive Chinese must have
used to pick up a roast after they began to
use fire.
The twigs then
evolved into the wooden, tapering sticks as
we know them today.
Chopsticks may
be made of any of several materials: bamboo,
wood, gold, silver, ivory, pewter, and plastics.
In cross-section, they may be either round
or square.
Some of them
are engraved with colored pictures or calligraphy
for decoration. Ordinary chopsticks used in
Chinese homes are of wood or bamboo, those
for banquets are often ivory, whereas gold
ones belonged only to the royalty and aristocracy.
When and where
were chopsticks first mentioned in writing?
A. A menu written
by a Chinese around 120 years ago;
B. An ancient etiquette guide dated to around
5,000 years ago;
C. The Chinese language version of How to
Win Friends and Influence People from the
1950s;
D. The Book of Rites around 2,000 years ago.
ANSWERS:
If you guessed
D, give yourself 10 points!
The correct way
to use chopsticks is to hold the pair in the
hollow between the thumb and forefinger of
your fork hand. The one closest to your body
should rest on the first joint of the ring
finger and stay relatively immobile. Hold
the other one with the forefinger and middle
finger, which manipulate it like pincers to
pick up the food.
The strength
applied by the fingers should vary with the
things to be taken hold of. The skill to pick
up, with speed and dexterity, small things
like beans and peanuts and slippery things
like slices of preserved eggs can only come
from practice and coordinated action of the
fingers.
People are often
impressed with the cleverness of the Chinese
hand that makes embroideries and clay sculptures
with such consummate skill. Could not this
also be attributed, at least partly, to the
constant use of chopsticks?