Table Of Content

Chopsticks ChopstickshavebecomeaquintessentialpartoftheChinese,Japanese, KoreanandVietnameseculinaryexperienceacrosstheglobe,withmore thanonefifthoftheworld’spopulationusingthemdailytoeat.Inthis vibrant,highlyoriginalaccountofthehistoryofchopsticks,Q.Edward Wangchartstheirevolutionfromasimpleeatingimplementinancient times to their status as a much more complex, cultural symbol today. Opening in the Neolithic Age, at the first recorded use of chopsticks, the book surveys their use through Chinese history, before exploring their transmission in the fifth century to other parts of Asia, including Japan,Korea,VietnamandMongolia.Callinguponastrikingselection ofartwork,theauthorillustrateshowchopstickusehasinfluencedAsian cuisine, and how, in turn, the cuisine continues to influence chopstick use,bothinAsiaandacrosstheglobe. Q. Edward Wang is Professor of History and Co-ordinator of Asian Studies at Rowan University and Changjiang Professor of History at PekingUniversity,China. Chopsticks A CULTURAL AND CULINARY HISTORY Q. EDWARD WANG UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107023963 ©Q.EdwardWang2015 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2015 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabySheridanBooks,Inc. AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata Wang,Q.Edward,1958– Chopsticks:aculturalandculinaryhistory/Q.EdwardWang. pages cm isbn978-1-107-02396-3(hardback) 1. Chopsticks. I. Title. gt2949.w36 2014 394.102–dc23 2014021293 isbn978-1-107-02396-3Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof urlsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication, anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. Tomymotherwhotaughtmetousechopsticks inChinaandformysonwhoisusingtheminthe US,asthetraditionlivesonfrompasttopresent, Chinaandbeyond. Contents Acknowledgments pageix Listofplates xiii Timeline xvii MapofEastAsia xix 1 Introduction 1 2 Whychopsticks?Theiroriginandoriginalfunction 16 3 Dish,riceornoodle?Thechanginguseofchopsticks 41 4 Formingachopsticksculturalsphere:Vietnam,Japan,Korea andbeyond 67 5 Usingchopsticks:customs,mannersandetiquette 93 6 Apairinseparable:chopsticksasgift,metaphorandsymbol 120 7 “Bridging”foodculturesintheworld 144 Conclusion 166 Glossary 171 Bibliography 176 Index 185 vii