Little is known of his life; his approximate dates are 712–715 to 779; he is known to have passed the jinshi examination in 753. He rose to be a secretary in the Board of Revenue.[1]
Zhang is correctly credited with one poem which was included in the classic anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was translated by Witter Bynner as "A Night-mooring near Maple Bridge" (楓橋夜泊) which references the Maple Bridge (楓橋), in Suzhou(蘇州) near the Hanshan Temple and its bells, which became famous because of this poem.
Japanese poets used some of his poems for Japanese typical Shigin singing-style poetry.