Background
Zhang was born in Haimen County, Jiangsu Province in 1853.
张謇, 季直啬庵
Zhang was born in Haimen County, Jiangsu Province in 1853.
He subsequently served in the Hanlin Academy. In 1909, Zhang was elected the chairman of Jiangsu provincial parliament. In 1912, Zhang drafted the Abdication Edict for Puyi, the last emperor of China.
He was appointed as the Minister of Enterprise of the temporary government of the Republic of China.
In 1913, Zhang became the Minister of Industry and Commerce and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Beiyang Government. In 1914, he served as the director of the State Administration of Water Resources.