Chopsticks (Kuai Zi)

Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. Chinese people have been using kuaizi as one of the main tableware for more than

3,000 years.

In ancient times, chopsticks were called "jia" (meaning "to take") in the "Book of Rites". Later, it was called "zhu" --- a homonym with another

Chinese word which means "to stop". This was an unlucky word, especially for the sailors. Ships stopping en route could mean a disaster. In

order to avoid the ominous sound, fisherman called chopsticks "kuai", which means "fast" in Chinese. And "zi" is a suffix added to many small

things and kitchen utensils. Therefore, chopsticks became "kuaizi".