Chopsticks were invented in China. There are many stories about who may have invented them. One of them is about Dayu.
Dayu was an ancient Chinese leader who helped his people fight floods. He was always busy and often ate in the wild. He used a pot to boil (煮沸)water and cook animal meat. Most of the time, he was in a hurry and didn't want to wait to eat. But the meat was too hot to pick up with his hands. In those days, people ate only with their hands.
So Dayu picked up some twigs (树枝)to help him hold the meat. The twigs later became the chopsticks we know today.
But of course, this is just one story. The earliest chopsticks we have found so far are more than 3,000 years old, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (朝代).The six bronze chopsticks were found in the Ruins of Yin (殷墟)in Anyang, Henan.
At first, chopsticks were just used as cooking tools. It was only after some time that people started to use chopsticks to eat.
