CHOPSTICK ETIQUETTE

I got the tips and info below about using Chinese chopsticks from the extract of a book called Good Luck Life. By the way, the above picture shows my students, Sharveen and Solihin, trying to eat noodles using chopsticks.

Chinese belief: The higher a maiden holds her chopsticks in her hand, the farther away she’ll move when she marries.

When using a set of chopsticks:

• Keep the ends of the chopsticks parallel and even in length.


• Don’t use chopsticks as impromptu drumsticks, batons, or pointing devices at the dinner table.


• Don’t use chopsticks for waving or for directing foot traffic in the restaurant.


• During breaks, rest the chopsticks’ eating ends on the edge of the plate or on a chopstick rest—never on the table.


• Don’t use chopsticks to spear food—only small children are allowed this infraction.
  Reserve chopsticks for picking up food only.


• Never stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, because they resemble lit incense sticks at an altar table.


• Don’t tap an empty bowl with chopsticks—that’s reserved for beggars.


• Use chopsticks in tandem with fingers to steady certain foods; use fingers only as a last resort.


• Don’t use chopsticks as hair decoration. The Chinese don’t put eating utensils anywhere but on the table.

Source: http://www.goodlucklife.com/excerpt.html