As dining tools that appeared together with Chinese cuisine, chopsticks have been used for 5,000 to 6,000 years. They became lighter and more practical in texture and shape over time. 

筷子这种与中国美食相伴而生的进食工具，其使用已有五六千年的历史。质料、形制也从厚重粗劣向轻巧实用的方向发展。

Chopsticks have auspicious implications and are used according to certain norms and taboos. 

筷子包含着吉祥的寓意，也有着不容忽视的使用规范和禁忌。

As one of the greatest inventions of the Chinese people and being representative of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture, the influence of chopsticks has spread all over the world. 

作为中国人最伟大的发明之一，筷子的影响力辐射至全世界，成为中华优秀传统文化的代表之一。

Spoons were known as “bi” or “chi” in ancient China and were used for dining as early as the Neolithic Age. 

餐勺，在古代又名“匕”、“匙”。早在新石器时代，远古先民就形成了使用餐勺进食的传统。

When the ancients dined, both spoons and chopsticks would be placed on the dining boards and used for different purposes. Chopsticks were used for picking up vegetables, while spoons were used for ladling rice and porridge. 

古人在进食时，餐勺与箸一般会同时出现在餐案上，且两者有着明确的分工。箸是用于夹取菜食的，米饭、米粥不能用箸，一定得用餐勺。

Today the functions of the two have changed. Spoons are mainly used for ladling soup, and chopsticks can be used for picking up almost everything on the table, including rice. 

勺与筷子在现代各自承担的职能发生了变化：勺主要用于享用羹汤；筷子几乎可以取食餐桌上的所有肴馔，也可用于食饭。

（Source:NationalMuseumOfChina)