At a young age, Zhang failed in his first attempt to enter civil service through taking the
imperial examination. But in 1862, he followed his uncle to
Jinan, paid money, and obtained the status of
Zhejiang. He then went on to became a
staff officer in the
Shandong Census. His abilities were evaluated by the Shandong Census and
Ding Baozhen, and he was recommended to the Taoist, and was promoted to
Azechi. Eventually, he was called to Beijing and joined the
Prime Minister's Department of Foreign Affairs, where he was promoted to Sajuro Tobe, and after that held successive positions in the Engineering Department, Criminal Affairs Department, Military Department, Religious Affairs Department, and Office Department. In 1885, he became
minister to the United States, Spain, and Peru. During his tenure, he consulted on the issues of overseas Chinese workers. In 1895, due to the crushing defeat of the
Beiyang Fleet in the
Sino-Japanese War, the Qing court dispatched Yinhuan and Shao Youlian, the commander of
Hunan, as ambassadors with plenipotentiary power to make peace. However, he was refused negotiations in
Hiroshima and was eventually replaced by
Li Hongzhang and his adopted son
Li Jingfang, who signed the
Treaty of Shimonoseki. In 1897, he visited the
United Kingdom, the United States,
France,
Germany, and
Russia. In March 1898, he served as deputy plenipotentiary for the
Russo-Qing Treaty on Port Arthur and Dalian Concession, which was signed in Beijing (the chief plenipotentiary was Li Hongzhang). Yinhuan supported the law reform movement and was close to
Kang Youwei, so he was exiled to
Xinjiang Province after the
Hundred Days' Reform. In 1900, he was executed in exile during the
Boxer Rebellion. ==References==