Born in Shanghai in 1907. The artist began his career in Tushanwan print house as an apprentice of plate making and photography, and learned oil painting. He left China for the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts Brussels to learn oil painting and sculpture in 1931. At the time, he met Hergé, and they worked together to finish "The Blue Lotus". In 1935, Zhang went back to China. Upon his arrival back in Shanghai, he held a number of exhibitions for his drawings and sculptures, he also established the "Chongren Studio" to further his art and to teach. The Zhang Chongren Museum was established in Minhang, Shanghai in 2003.