Zhang Ji (simplified Chinese: 张籍; traditional Chinese: 張籍; pinyin: Zhāng Jí; Wade–Giles: Chang Chi2; c. 766 – c. 830), courtesy name Wenchang (文昌),[1] was a Tang dynasty poet and scholar.
According to Herbert Giles, he was renowned as a scholar and poet, and he "was patronised by the great Han Yu, whom he even ventured to take to task for his fondness for dice.
But it is by his poems that he is known; among which may be mentioned the exquisite lines under the title of 節婦吟.
He was also a vigorous opponent of Buddhism and Taoism, both of which he held in much contempt.
American scholar Jonathan Chaves has published the first[citation needed] book in any Western language on Zhang Ji, Cloud Gate Song, using rhymed translations which track the rhyme schemes of the original texts.