Branding chopsticks

Branding chopsticks

　　Branding chopsticks are a specialty of Shaanxi, made from holly wood with well-formed growth rings and sturdy trunks. During production, the wood is split into fine strands, shaped into chopstick blanks, then scraped, rounded, and sanded to create smooth wooden chopsticks before branding. Branding is the key step in the process — artisans use a heated tool to skillfully burn elegant patterns such as wildflowers, grasses, flowing streams, and mountain scenes onto the chopsticks.

　　The Shanyang holly wood branding chopsticks are made from “cliff holly,” a perennial wood that grows on cliffs and steep slopes in the region. These chopsticks are produced through meticulous craftsmanship and have over 400 years of history, dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Holly wood, also known as “evergreen of the four seasons” and commonly referred to as “immortal branch,” is an evergreen tree belonging to the holly family. In traditional Chinese medicine, its leaves and seeds are used for their therapeutic properties, while the wood is valued for making chopsticks believed to have heat-clearing, detoxifying, blood-cooling, stomach-soothing, and antibacterial effects. It can help treat toothaches caused by wind-fire, mouth ulcers, and bleeding, and is said to stimulate appetite — making it a precious material for chopstick production. Many classical poems praise the wood. The Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu wrote, “Below grow forests of holly, with roots winding along the rocks.” The Song Dynasty poet Yang Wanli also penned the poem “Winter Holly,” which includes the lines: “By the Hundred Sons Pool it’s planted, rarest of all, / Unrecognized as the immortal branch, standing tall. / With dense foliage and tiny flowers, its green fruits gleam, / Bathed in the fragrant dew from the imperial stream.” There is an old saying: “Commoners may pick its leaves to eat, but only emperors may use its branches and trunks daily.” This shows that in ancient times, holly wood chopsticks were so precious they were reserved solely for imperial use.