The Chinese spoon or Chinese soup spoon is a type of

spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

with a short, thick handle extending directly from a deep, flat bowl. It is a regular utensil in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...

used for liquids, especially soups, or loose solid food. Most are made from

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s. Although normally used as an

eating utensil A variety of eating utensils have been used by people to aid eating when dining. Most societies traditionally use bowls or dishes to contain food to be eaten, but while some use their hands to deliver this food to their mouths, others have deve ...

, larger versions of the Chinese spoon are also used as

serving spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

s or ladles. It can be stacked on top of one another for storage. Spoons were used as early as the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

of the 2nd millennium B.C., both as a cooking tool and in eating, and were more common than

chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the do ...

until perhaps the 10th century A.D. Chinese spoons typically have higher sides and can hold more than the western

soup spoon A soup spoon is a type of spoon with a large or rounded bowl, used for consuming soup. The term can either refer to the British soup spoon or the Chinese spoon. Round bowled soup spoons were a Victorian invention. Sets of silverware made prior to ...

. These spoons are used throughout Asia.

History

The spoon (匕, bǐ) was known as early as the

. The earliest found were made of bone, but bronze specimens are also found that have sharp points, suggesting they were used for cutting. These could be more than a foot long. During the Spring and Autumn period a rounder form appeared, and lacquer spoons are also found, becoming popular in the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. In ancient China the spoon was more common than

chopstick Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the ...

s, which were used in cooking. The spoon was more useful for eating because the most common food grain in North China was millet, which was made into a congee, or gruel. The spoon was better fitted for eating its soupy texture in an elegant way. The spoon was gradually undermined as the most common eating utensil starting in the Han, roughly the 1st century A.D., when wheat began to be more widely grown. Milling technology became sophisticated enough to produce flour for noodles and dumplings. Since these were more easily lifted with chopsticks, the spoon lost its prominence by about the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, or 10th century. Early-ripening rice, which was introduced from Vietnam at this time, was even easier to eat with chopsticks, since it cooked into clumps. The first compasses were created in China in the Han or soon after the Han by using a spoon shaped lodestone which rotated on a bronze plate.(see image below)Needham, Joseph (1986) ''Science and civilisation in China'', Vol. 4: "Physics and physical technology", Pt. 1: "Physics" (Cambridge University Press (1962), p
563
/ref> In the system of classification used in the

Kangxi Dictionary The ''Kangxi Dictionary'' ( (Compendium of standard characters from the Kangxi period), published in 1716, was the most authoritative dictionary of Chinese characters from the 18th century through the early 20th. The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing ...

, compiled in the 18th century, Radical 21 (classifier #21) is "spoon."

Spoons in history

File:Flat spoon from China, Han dynasty, bronze, Honolulu Museum of Art.JPG, Han dynasty flat spoon (Honolulu Museum of Art) File:Model Si Nan of Han Dynasty.jpg, Han dynasty spoon compass File:Song Dynasty silver chopsticks, cup, and spoon.JPG, Song dynasty silver chopsticks, cup, and spoon

Modern spoons

File:Metal Chinese spoon - 01.jpg, Stainless steel spoons File:Chinese spoons.jpg,

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

spoons File:Soup Spoon on Rest Hakubai Japanese Restaurant.jpg, Spoon on a spoon rest

References

{{reflist Chinese cuisine Chinese food preparation utensils Chinese inventions Shang dynasty Spoons

History

Spoons in history

Modern spoons

See also

References