Chang was born in Kuichou (current
Guizhou), China. In his early years, he went to
Tianjin to live with his relative there, and graduated from
Tianjin Nankai High School. When Chang was a student he was very active in politics, and joined the
Chinese Revolutionary Party. In 1919, Chang went to study in
Europe with the financial aid from then Chinese government. Chang spent three years in
London at
Slade School of Fine Art, an art school of the
University College London. According to Xu's second wife,
Liao Jingwen, Chang spread gossip about Xu having an affair with the student and artist,
Sun Duoci, in order to drive a wedge between the couple. In 1937, he was exchanging letters with Jiang Biwei who was now single, as her partner had fallen for his student, the painter
Sun Duoci. Chang knew that the Japanese were thought to be about to bomb Nanjing and he arranged for Jiang Biwei to escape to
Chongqing. Here, they could correspond and secretly see each other but she could not appear as his consort if he was on official business. (Jiang Biwei was married to a man she had abandoned to live with Yu). Chang was a married man and the vice-minister of education. He arranged for Jiang to be given a job. ==Career==