Born in Zhenjiang in China's Jiangsu province, Zhang was educated first at Tsinghua University in Beijing, then at Yale University in the United States.
Zhang acted in the 1982 film Da ze long she, about an armed conflict between coal miners and management set in the 1920s.
In addition to this he also wrote the 1954 war film Letter with Feather.
In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival.
This article about a Chinese film director is a stub.