Learning to truly appreciate one's culture is a feat in itself. However, learning to appreciate another culture is a different story.

That's just what the Chinese Culture Club intends to help students do.

Bridging the gap between American and Chinese culture, the Chinese Culture Club will be holding a demonstration of ancient Chinese Calligraphy as part of the Spring Fling celebration from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. tomorrow night on the ground floor of the HUB-Robeson Center.

"Our ultimate goal is not only to share our culture but also for us to learn about American culture," said Jingzhi Zhu, president of the Chinese Culture Club.

Chinese calligraphy is an art of intense concentration, and it is a practice that encompasses the mind and body. Legend has it that the art form increases an individual's longevity.

The practice began in China thousands of years ago as a form of recording history but has since become integral parts of Chinese, Korean and Japanese cultures. Before paper, ancient calligraphers wrote on cloth, bamboo and wood first by using bones and rock, then eventually brush and ink techniques.

Today Chinese brush calligraphy is still considered one of four traditional Chinese arts: Qin, a string musical instrument; Qi, a strategic board game; Hua, painting; and Shu, calligraphy.

"The craft of Chinese characters is a large part of our culture that includes music, painting and architecture," Zhu said.

Traditional Chinese families display calligraphy in their homes as part of their New Year celebrations. People also enjoy having symbols that represent their motto or philosophy of life.

He Huang (graduate-material sciences and engineering), a calligrapher who has spent many years practicing the art-form, uses calligraphy as a form of expression.

"Everyone can practice the art. But not everyone is a master. It is like any other form of artwork and we have a very high standard," Huang said.

Huang said that modern Chinese writing is very different from calligraphy.

"With people's busy lives and computers, people rarely put time into their writing. But calligraphy is the beautiful stuff. It demonstrates individual's personalities," he said.

Calligraphy works are on display in many museums, and their values range from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Many modern western artists have also incorporated Chinese calligraphy into their art.

The Chinese Culture Club began about five years ago, but tomorrow's event is the first of many under the club's new leadership. The club will be holding a series of events throughout the upcoming semesters and it welcomes new members.