Zhang was born into a scholarly family in
Nanchong,
Sichuan on April 2, 1872. Witnessing the turmoil at the end of the
Qing dynasty, Zhang was attracted to the reformist views of
Liang Qichao, and he joined the group advocating constitutional monarchy for China. In 1911, Zhang was vice-chairman of the committee of shareholders that opposed the planned nationalization of the projected Sichuan-
Hankou railroad. The protests against the plan swelled into an uprising that was easily quelled by authorities. 1938，After the
Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, Zhang was appointed a member of the . Although he rarely participated in the body's deliberations, he was respected for his speeches criticizing the Nationalist government. When a number of opposition groups joined to form the League of Chinese Democratic Political Groups in 1941, Zhang was elected chairman. As a non-partisan figure, he calmed disagreements between the various constituent groups of the League. He retained this position after the League's reorganization into the China Democratic League in 1944, and until his death in 1955. The China Democratic League was outlawed in 1947, after which Zhang was placed under house arrest in
Shanghai. In the spring of 1949, he escaped with the aid of
Chinese Communist Party agents and traveled to
Beijing to assist in forming the new government. He headed the China Democratic League delegation to the first
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in September 1949, and was elected one of the
Vice-chairmen of the Central People's Government after the founding of the
People's Republic of China on October 1. Zhang held this position until 1954, when the government was reorganized to have only one vice-chairman, at which time he was made a
Vice Chair of the
Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress. Zhang died of
arteriosclerosis on 9 February 1955 at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife, Liu Huicheng. ==References==