What is closest to us may be what we most take for granted... The humble chopsticks on our table are a prime example of that axiom. How much does the public really know about the simple and common chopsticks?  Around for more than 3,000 years, what has been conveyed to us is not only the delight of food.
Chopsticks are another ancient discovery above and beyond the four ancient Chinese inventions (gunpowder, compass, papermaking and printing). People began to use the eating utensil during the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago.

History of the Chopsticks
 It is impossible to verify when the utensil was created and who is responsible, but it is common knowledge that China is home to chopsticks. In ancient books, chopsticks were called "zhu,"showing that bamboo or wood were the first products used in production.
 Why was it changed to "kuaizi"? It is because the pronunciation of "zhu" is the same as another word which contains the meanings of "to stop," "to end" and is considered inauspicious. To act in contravention, it was changed it to "kuai,"with the pronunciation of the word meaning "going as quickly as flying."
What is interesting is that the English name of "chopsticks" means "sharp sticks,"and that name, with incorrect meaning, has spread widely.
 
Kinds of Chopsticks
1. Bamboo or wooden chopsticks
This is the kind commonly used in Chinese homes. They are usually cheap but are easily bent and they blacken after usage. Subsequently, they must be replaced often.
Compared with bamboo chopsticks, wooden ones are higher priced and can also serve as good gifts for close friends and relatives during holidays and festival time.
Rosewood chopsticks look elegant and feature primitive simplicity. They are appropriate to match with high quality blue and white porcelain bowls and dishes. They should not be washed in alkali water since that would turn them grey and ugly.
Chopsticks made of dark, heavy wood enjoy the highest position among wooden chopsticks. They are of hard quality and heavy weight wood, and will not deform with use. They have a smooth, lustrous and elegant look.
Chopsticks made of Chinese ilex are plain and elegant. The material is hard, but smooth, sweet, and chilly with a delicate fragrance. It is said that it has the functions of reducing internal heat and of brightening the eye.
Chopsticks made of nanmu are of close texture and light green color. Durable and with a light fragrance, they sell well in southern China.
Chopsticks made of the jujube tree are of a heavy and tenacious quality, with a smooth feel, dark red color and luster, and are popular in northern China.
Chopsticks made of tieningmu are produced in Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province. The product sinks in water so is known as "iron chopsticks." The main strong point is the fact the utensil is not water-absorbing.
The lacquer painted chopsticks have either bamboo or wooden bodies. Brightly painted with beautiful patterns, it takes 43 processes to make a pair of such chopsticks. After being steamed at high temperature, they can stand boiling water or soup but they become tender if scrubbed since the lacquer is easy to scrub down, and therefore can present a possible health hazard.

2. Metal Chopsticks
Such chopsticks were once popular with wealthy families, but are rarely used now. The earliest metal chopsticks were made of bronze but because they rusted easily they were replaced by silver chopsticks.
 It is said that the silver chopsticks can protect against toxins. In fact, they will become dark only when they are in contact with arsenic or potassium hydride and they do not respond when touching other toxins such as that of globefish or moldy potatoes.

3. Chopsticks of ivory and beast bones
These chopsticks have been considered luxurious, but, in the interests of animal welfare, they should be dispensed with.
   
Chopsticks and Health
Chopsticks are the extension of people's arms, helping people finish the complicated movement of picking up food to eat. It has been proven scientifically that getting food with chopsticks requires a series of movements of more than 30 joints and more than 50 muscles with the command and coordination from the nervous system. Subsequently, it is good exercise for a child's brain.

Chopsticks and Customs
 Among people, chopsticks are considered to mean sufficient food and, since chopsticks are always used in pairs, they also play an important role in the marriage custom, symbolizing a conclusion of an engagement. In many places, when women get married, there are two pairs of chopsticks in their dowry as a symbol to encourage them to have children.

Something Else about Chopsticks
Chopsticks originated in China and usage in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam was introduced from China. About 1.5 billion people use chopsticks worldwide and a large number of Westerners are proud of using the eating utensil. Lyudmila Putin, wife of Russian president Vladimir Putin and world-famous tenor Placido Domingo, are said to be proficient in the use of chopsticks.
Japanese chopsticks are short and pointed because, it is said, that style is more suited for eating sashimi, a Japanese favorite. There is also a Chopsticks Festival in Japan to commemorate the introduction of the invention.
 South Koreans use pointed chopsticks made of stainless steel, which are durable and convenient for eating barbecue.
In America, chopsticks are sold in many gift and souvenir stores or supermarkets and in most large eating establishments, a customer's request for chopsticks will be satisfied.
 Some Chinese food restaurants provide printed explanations on how to use chopsticks, complete with photographs, and the advice that practice with pencils might be helpful.
 Chopsticks are not only a unique kind of tableware but a small carrier to aid in the spread of Chinese culture. In Western countries, eating Chinese food has become popular and, eating with chopsticks; helps provide the true flavor of the activity.

Sayings of Celebrities
"On such simple two pieces of sticks is an ingenious use of the lever law. Chopsticks are the extension of human being's fingers. What fingers can do, they can do."
Li Zhengdao – A renowned physicist and a Nobel Prize winner

"The chopsticks are one of our important inventions. Primitive people ate things with their hands to grasp, which is already a big progress compared with beasts. With the two pieces of chopsticks, which equal to an extension of fingers, it is a further progress compared with apes getting things with tree branches. It is very flexible for the use of chopsticks. What fingers can do, the chopsticks can do too."
Liang Shiqiu – A prominent essayist and translator

"As early as more than 3,000 years ago, our ancestors had once also used knives and forks. Later, with the prominent improvement of Chinese cooking, people did not need to cut the meat during dinners, so people changed to use chopsticks beginning the Shang and Zhou dynasties."                                                    
Cai Yuanpei - A Chinese educator and former chancellor of Peking University