influence of parent on daughter in RGS on the use of chopsticks

teacher-mentor: MS WONG TIEW KIAT group members group leader: DELIA KAN members: GRACE LIM SIMONE QUEK BERNICE YAU class: 212 teacher-mentor: MS WONG TIEW KIAT

as members of the Chinese race in Singapore, we wish to introduction as members of the Chinese race in Singapore, we wish to learn more about chopsticks history and its contribution to the preservation of the Chinese culture. types of chopsticks & Chopstick Manners  CULTURE reasons for ignorance of method of holding Chinese chopsticks “Chopstick Manners” in the Chinese culture “do”s and “don’t”s investigate:  traditional use of the chopsticks  preservation of the Chinese culture.

issue/problem why has there been a decreasing number of the younger generation (teenagers and children) who use chopsticks on a near daily basis (and more often than forks) as compared to in the past?

aims & objectives RESEARCH (FIND OUT)  chopsticks in different cultures  role chopsticks play in present day preservation  reasons for declining number of children using chopsticks RAISE AWARENESS on the importance of culture preservation MOTIVATE younger generation to start learning how to use chopsticks

Brief History of Chopsticks originated in ancient China as early as the Shang dynasty widely used throughout East Asia earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks made out of bronze was excavated from Yin Ruins's Tomb 1005 at Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan

Why Invent Chopsticks? the origin of Chinese chopsticks is directly related to  the emergence and development of primitive agriculture  the invention and development of pottery ware problems arising  most appropriate way of cooking grain crops ->boiling  unsuitable to eat boiled food with one's fingers  tree branches, bamboo sticks and animal bones -> used as tools to eat

Chopstick NO-NOs not used to make noise (eg. banging on the bowl), to draw attention, or to gesticulate not used to move bowls or plates not used to toy with one's food or with dishes in common not used to pierce food, save in rare instances not be left standing vertically in a bowl of rice or other food

Chopsticks of different cultures Chinese Japanese Korean Vietnamese Thai

Chinese Chopsticks

Japanese chopsticks

Korean chopsticks

Vietnamese chopsticks

Thai Chopsticks

Significance to Chinese Culture preserving the Chinese food culture. the main tableware used for the past 3000 years By using just forks and spoons, we are forgetting and neglecting our Chinese culture and hence, we are not doing our duty in helping to preserve our own culture.

Survey and Interview Surveys Target Audience RGS girls and their parents Number of people surveyed:  RGS girls: 400(planned) 215 (actual)  Parents: 100 (planned) Objectives: Compare the results among the two parties Find out the number of people who use chopsticks Find out the frequency of the use of chopsticks - Find out why chopsticks are less popular among younger generation currently

Interviews Target Audience Interviews Target Audience - RGS girls and their parents Number of people interviewed:  RGS girls: 10  Parents: 10 Objectives - Find out why interviewee does/does not use chopsticks more than forks - Find out whether people know the correct way of holding chopsticks and actually make the effort to do it - Get a more detailed idea of what lies behind some of the people who did the surveys

Results (Students) Data obtained – Almost the entire student population do use chopsticks.

Results Data obtained – Chopsticks are frequently used by most. Around half of the students population use chopsticks everyday.

Results Data obtained – Majority of the student population do not hold chopsticks in the traditionally-appropriate manner.

Conclusion influence is relative; both parent and child must play their part to, in helping to preserve the ancient tradition of holding chopsticks. Parents only influence up to a certain extent ultimately the child’s choice and decision to make on whether or not to do so when she has reached a certain age of independence.

Reflections Problems encountered Hard to get others to cooperate with surveys Lack of time Miscommunication Ways to Improve Keep better counts of surveys given out Better time management Do not procrastinate Communicate with more clarity

Product Pamphlet Target Audience – teenagers and their parents Aims – to educate and inform more about the origin of chopsticks and its significance to the Chinese culture

Acknowledgments Our deepest gratitude goes out to: Our teacher-mentor, Ms Wong Tiew Kiat Our parents and siblings who supported us Fellow Rafflesians and their parents for aiding us in completing surveys/interviews Everyone who helped out in one way or another

Bibliography http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Kaleidoscope122bye503.html http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Kaleidoscope122bye497.html http://www.ichizen.com/chopsticks/images/1999_03_04.gif http://www.flamingtext.com http://www.zengifts.com/images/chopsticks_bulk.jpg http://chinesefod.about.com/od/restaurantdining/a/chopsticks.html

www.wikihow.com/Eat-with-chopsticks http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_chopsticks02a.htm http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2039.html http://www.infoplease.com/spot/chopsticks1.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks#Universal_etiquette http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks#Styles_of_chopstick_used_in_different_cultures Books Lan Xiang & Lan Peijin (2005) Chinese Chopsticks Foreign Language Press Asian Pac Books (n.d.) 中华文化之旅 亚太图书编撰簿

Thank you!