In 1937, Zhang became an apprentice of Mei Lanfang, the best-known Chinese opera star of the time.

Wu herself acted resolutely, packed her bags, and moved from Shanghai to live with Zhang in Beijing.

When the war was over, Mao Zedong's Communists ruled from Beijing and the KMT was exiled to Taiwan.

[2][1] His 1962 show with martial artist Gao Shenglin[f] was a sensation that played to packed audiences.

Premier Zhou Enlai told Zhang to stop performing female roles.

Young female impersonators were often involved in abusive relationships, and Zhou may have been compensating for his own past, according to Bao Huai, a gender studies researcher.

[7] On June 4, 1966, Zhang and Ma Lianlang[g] performed the modern opera More Every Year[h] at a school in Beijing.

Ma was concerned because he had starred in Hai Rui Dismissed from Office, a play denounced by the Maoists.

In 1974, Zhang married Xie Hongwen,[j] a student of opera star Mei Lanfang.

[9] He participated in a project of the Tianjin Chinese Cultural Promotion Council[k] to have young actors dress as the old masters and lip synch to their recordings.