Chopsticks play an important part in Chinese food culture. Chopsticks are called “Kuaizi” in Chinese and were called “Zhu” in ancient times. Chinese people have been using “Kuaizi” for more than 3, 000 years.

It was written in Liji that chopsticks were used in the Shang Dynasty（王朝）. It was said in one Chinese history book that Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty, used ivory（象牙）chopsticks. Experts believe the history of wood or bamboo chopsticks can go back to about 1, 000 years earlier than ivory chopsticks. Gold and silver chopsticks became popular in the Tang Dynasty.

Chopsticks can be divided into different groups, such as wood, metal, bone, stone chopsticks. Bamboo and wood chopsticks are the most popular ones used in Chinese homes.

There are a few things to be careful about when using chopsticks. Chinese people usually don’t beat their bowls while eating, since the act used to be practised by beggars. Also don’t put chopsticks in a bowl because it is a custom only used in sacrifice（祭祀）. If you are really interested in chopsticks, you may want to visit the Kuaizi Museum in Shanghai. The museum has collected over 1, 000 pairs of chopsticks. The oldest one is from the Tang Dynasty.

Around the world, people have different ideas about what good table manners are. In India, for example, people only eat with their right hands. And their left hand stays still. Eating with your left hand is very rude (粗鲁的)!

In western countries, people do not usually share the same dishes. Everyone has his or her own plate of food. You eat with a knife and fork and you should not wave (挥) them around when you are not eating. And you should try not to be noisy when eating.

When you go to some restaurants in different parts of the world, it is important to know what people think is rude. For example, in China it’s OK to be noisy in a restaurant. In fact, if a restaurant is not noisy, you may think it is not very good. However, in many western countries, restaurants are quiet places. If a table is too noisy, other customers might not be happy.

Paying for the meal is also different from country to country. In China, one person usually pays for everyone. In western countries, when friends eat together, they usually share the cost. This is called “going Dutch.” When westerners pay the check, they usually leave some money for the waiter. This is called “leaving a tip.” Not leaving a tip is very rude. In the USA, it’s common to leave tips of 10%, 15% or 20% of the check.

My name is Nick. My friends and I eat well. Here is the list（清单）of my four friends' meals (餐).