From the early years of the 20th century, Zhang edited a series of widely read journals and in the 1910s and 20s conducted respectful debates with New Culture Movement advocates of deep change and promoted Classical Chinese writing and protested written vernacular Chinese.

He entered Lianghu Academy of Chinese Literature (两湖书院) in 1901 and was a classmate of Huang Xing, with whom he co-founded the Huaxing Party (华兴会) (out of which in 1904 the Huaxinghui was created).

In these early years, Zhang took a radical position, rejecting Confucian culture in favor of Western values.

[3] As the New Culture Movement of the 1910s gathered support among young intellectuals, Zhang stood against their allegiance to Western ideas and institutions.

He returned to Shanghai later, resumed his law practice, and defended Liang Hongzhi and Zhou Fohai when they were prosecuted as hanjian for their wartime collaboration with the Japanese.

In Spring of 1949, he was invited by Li Zongren as a KMT delegate and twice went to Beijing to negotiate with Chairman Mao, a fellow native of Changsha whom he had known many years before.

Official PRC sources suggested that he was in Hong Kong to coordinate a proposed "Third CPC-KMT cooperation" (reconciliation with the Chiang Kai-shek government in Taiwan).

[4] His adopted daughter was Zhang Hanzhi, who, at the suggestion of Mao Zedong, married the then recently widowed Qiao Guanhua.