Why do the Chinese eat with chopsticks?

Legend has it a Chinese emperor feared a public uprising so much he
ordered his troops to collect all metal implements that might be used as
weapons against him.

This also included the metal eating utensils in use by the Chinese.
Deprived of metal knives and forks, the Chinese people (legend has it),
learned to eat with narrow sticks they cut from bamboo trees - giving
birth to chopsticks.