Zhang (1895–1986) was an influential writer, translator and reviewer in the vernacular Chinese literature movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
He compared and contrasted those with late Qing dynasty traditional wenyan classical writings.
The most important and the deepest contribution is the accurate description of the general spiritual and cultural transition represented by Lu Xun.
For example upon reading 'A Madman's Diary' 狂人日记 we move from the shadows of candlelight into the bright summer sun.
Zhang was the first to recognize Lu Xun writings as the literary instruments of change from a medieval world to a contemporary one.