Zhang's anecdotes and allusions

Zhang and Yuan Shikai are brothers of the League and their children's in-laws. However, in their later years, Zhang and Yuan Shikai "died of old age" because of political differences. Even after Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, Zhang never went to Beijing because he refused to go to the same city as Yuan.

When Zhang was a vassal of Shandong, Yuan Shikai was the governor of Shandong. On the issue of suppressing the Boxer Rebellion by force, Yuan Shikai wavered for a time. Zhang gave Yuan a decisive opinion when he was hesitant. Zhang suggested to Yuan: "In ancient times, I have never heard that great things can be achieved by heresy. If you can expect the boxer to succeed, treat it well. Otherwise, you should make up your mind earlier. " Yuan Shikai was later appreciated by the Qing court for destroying the Boxer Rebellion. In order to thank Zhang for his advice, the two exchanged positions, became sworn brothers, and later became children's in-laws. 1908, Yuan Ruohuan, the eldest daughter of Yuan Shikai, married Zhang's youngest son.

Although his thoughts on the extermination of the Boxer Rebellion were unified, Zhang, who had a high opinion of himself and was stubborn, had doubts about Yuan Shikai's political stance. Zhang's philosophy is to "eat your wealth and repay your kindness", and he is extremely contemptuous of Yuan Shikai's repeated betrayal of the imperial court and his becoming a great president first, also known as Emperor Hongxian. He refused to hold all positions in the Republic of China and would never meet Yuan Shikai. After the outbreak of World War I, because Qingdao was occupied by Germany, the Zhang family fled to Tianjin, and the family came to this house on Gordon Road in the old British concession, which is now Hubei Road 1.

Zhang is not only an elder in the family, but also a model of learning and morality for future generations. He never concubines, nor does he allow his children to concubinage. Although it is not absolutely forbidden to keep maids, they are rarely used in every room. Yuan Shikai's eldest daughter married the Zhang family and had no handmaid. Zhang doesn't allow his children to smoke opium, and there is no smoking set at home. He never celebrates his birthday, gambling is forbidden at home, and even singing Beijing opera is regarded as disdainful. Zhang's grandson recalled: "Their family was very puritan. In his later years in Tianjin, there was nothing but writing every day. Therefore, he is not an old man living a chic life, but a typical old-fashioned gentleman. "

Another feature of the Zhang family is that until the founding of New China, the Zhang family maintained the extended family system of living together, which is also one of the characteristics of the Zhang family management. There are as many as fifty or sixty people living with the Zhang family, and they have public accounts. They are all the same in terms of housing and diet. As soon as lunch and dinner started, the dinner bell rang at a dozen tables. Other wedding and funeral events and communication matters are unified actions, which are carried out by fathers and brothers in large numbers, and the younger generation does not participate. This typical extended family was rare in the old British Concession, but now it sounds even more novel.

1927 Zhang died in an apartment on Hubei Road. Puyi personally went to Zhangzhai to express his condolences and eulogized "Wen Zhen", which corresponds to Li Hongzhang's "Wenzhong" in posthumous title. His lifelong "loyalty to the country" finally came to a conclusion. In February of the following year, Zhang's coffin returned to his hometown and was buried in Daqituo Village, where he was born and raised. After decades of wandering outside, a generation of man of the hour has finally fallen leaves. In addition to politics, Zhang is also a versatile scholar, poet and calligrapher. Zhang was an important official in the Qing Dynasty. Due to his late death, there was no biography about him in the Draft of Qing History. However, Biography of Painters in the Republic of China listed Zhang as a calligrapher and introduced him as a "calligrapher, good at poetry". Fu Xinian, a famous scholar and expert in calligraphy and painting appraisal, commented on his calligraphy and said, "The circle of seal script, the steadiness of regular script, the fluency of cursive script ... its imitation is vivid, both in form and spirit, and its skill is profound", which is exactly the same as that of Chen and Wu.

But unfortunately, because Zhang was busy with government affairs and kept a low profile during his political career, his official position was high after retirement, which was even more difficult for outsiders to get. Therefore, calligraphy and painting have not been widely circulated, and few people can see it today. As for Zhang's poems, they are rarely handed down from generation to generation. There is only one famous poem, and Ling Du's storytelling is expensive, thin and hard. As a famous poem, it is widely praised by people.