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"Chopsticks were invented and developed in China about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, although the exact date is unknown.

The characteristic use of chopsticks in traditional Chinese society stems essentially from philosophical reasons. Mealtimes are considered as events which promote social harmony through the gathering of family and friends. It is therefore considered inappropriate for any implement designed to stab and cut (such as a knife) to be used at the dining table, as such implements are associated with violence. It is also for this reason that Chinese chopsticks never have pointed ends.

Tools resembling chopsticks were unearthed in the archeological site Meggido in Israel, belonging to Scythian invaders of Canaan. This discovery may reveal the existence of a trade relationship between the Middle East and the Far East in early antiquity, or may be an independent parallel development. Chopsticks were also common household items of civilized Uyghurs on the Mongolian Steppes during the 6-8th centuries.

Environmental impact

In China alone, an estimated 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are used and thrown away annually. This adds up to 1.7 million cubic metres of timber or 25 million fully grown trees every year. To encourage that people use and throw away less, as of April 2006 a five percent tax is added to the price of chopsticks. This measure is part of the first tax package in 12 years."*

I grew up eating with chopsticks every night... but funny enough my mum (Japanese) never corrected me and, even though I can eat anything with them, I don't actually hold them properly. She used to say that whilst the western barbarians used to eat with their hands (as me and my brother were fascinated by Obelix eating his boars with his bare hands), the Chinese and Japanese were already sophisicated enough to use chopsticks to keep theirs clean. Maybe it was just a mum's trick... But, sometimes, some food tastes better with your hands! And even the etiquette requires it! like when eating asparagus... or pizza in Italy...

Usage

"Held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand, they are used as tongs to take up portions of the food, which is brought to the table cut up into small and convenient pieces, or (except in Korea) as means for sweeping the rice and small particles of food into the mouth from the bowl. Many rules of etiquette govern the proper conduct of the chopsticks.

Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand only, even by the left-handed. Although chopsticks may now be found in either hand, some still consider left-handed chopstick use as improper etiquette.

Chopsticks are simple in design: merely two thin rods (top and bottom area smaller than one square centimeter, length varies), each slightly tapered. The smaller, round ends come in contact with the food. Some designs have rings carved around the tips, which aid in grabbing food. Mastery requires some practice. In chopstick-using cultures, food is generally made into small pieces. Also, rice in East Asia is often prepared to be sticky, which leads to "clumping" of the rice conducive to eating with chopsticks, while rice prepared using Western methods tend to be "fluffy", and is particularly difficult to eat with chopsticks. The stickyness also depends on the cultivar of rice; the cultivar used in the chopstick countries tends to be japonica, which is stickier than indica, a rice used in curries.

In East Asian cultures, children learn to use chopsticks as their first utensils. In China, a child has usually gained the ability to eat every grain of rice in a ricebowl with chopsticks by the age of three.

It is important to note that the chopsticks are used in a large geographic area. While principles of etiquette are similar, the finer points may differ from region to region, and there is no single standard for the use of chopsticks. Generally, chopsticks etiquette is similar to general Western etiquette regarding eating utensils.

* Never wave your chopsticks around as if it was an extension of your hand gestures, bang them like drumsticks, or use them to move bowls or plates.
* Decide what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks (do not hover around or poke looking for special ingredients). After you have picked up an item, do not put it back in the dish.
* When picking up a piece of food, never use the tips of your chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables and kimchi. In informal use, small, difficult to pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be stabbed but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists.
* Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on one's plate or bowl to keep them off the table entirely. A chopstick rest can also be used to keep the points off the table.
* In Chinese culture, it is normal to have your lips touching the edge of the rice bowl and using chopsticks to push rice directly into the mouth. In Korean culture, it is rude to pick the rice bowl off of the table and eat from it.
* In Chinese and Japanese etiquette, the blunt end is sometimes used to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl (never your mouth). In Korea, the blunt handle end is not considered sanitary.
* Never stab chopsticks into a bowl of rice, leaving them standing upwards. Any stick-like object facing upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members.

Chinese etiquette
* While using chopsticks to pick up food, the palm of your hand should face down at all times. Twisting your chopsticks — holding the wrist in such a way that everyone can see your palm — is considered unrefined in Chinese culture.
* Chinese traditionally eat rice from a bowl. The rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks. Some Chinese find it offensive to scoop rice from the bowl using a spoon. If rice is served on a plate, as is more common in the West, it is acceptable and more practical to eat it with a fork or spoon.
* A set of chopsticks are one of the wedding gifts normally presented to Chinese newlyweds as the Chinese words for "chopsticks" and "to bear a son soon" sound the same.
* It is acceptable to transfer food to people who have a close relation with you (e.g. parents, grandparents, children or significant others) if you noticed they are having difficulty picking up the food. Also it is a sign of respect to pass food to the elderly first before the dinner starts (part of the Confucian tradition of respecting seniors).
* When communal chopsticks are supplied with shared plates of food, it is considered impolite to use your own chopsticks to pick up the food from the shared plate or eat using the communal chopsticks.

Japanese etiquette
* Never use chopsticks to transfer something to someone else's chopsticks or someone else's plate or bowl. This is how bones are passed as part of funeral rites (see Japanese funeral).
* Always place the pointed ends of the chopsticks on a chopstick rest when the chopsticks are not being used.

Korean etiquette
* Unlike other chopstick cultures, Koreans use a spoon (traditionally, relatively flat, circular head with straight stick handle, unlike the Chinese soup spoon and similar to the Western spoon) for their rice and soup, and chopsticks for most other things at the table.
* Do not pick up the rice or food bowls and eat from them. Unlike the rice eaten in many parts of China, Korean steamed rice can be easily picked up with chopsticks, although eating rice with a spoon is more acceptable.

Vietnamese etiquette
* As with Chinese etiquette, the rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice is pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks.
* Unlike with Chinese dishes, it is also practical to use chopsticks to pick up rice in plates, such as fried rice, because Vietnamese rice is typically sticky.
* It is proper to always be using two chopsticks at once, even when used for stirring."*

*Wikipedia