[Chang Yen-yuanzi Aibing] (fl. c. 815–c. 875 ce). Chinese art historian. He is known as the compiler of the Fa shu yaolu ('Essential records of Chinese calligraphers'), a compendium of earlier writings on calligraphy, and the author of Lidai minghua ji ('Record of famous painters of all periods'). The latter, based on Xie He’s Gu huapin lu ('Classification of painters'), was the most thorough survey yet made of painting theory and history. It contains data up to the year 841 ce and its preface is dated 847 ce. Zhang follows the categories of art already known to Gu Kaizhi, those of figures, landscapes, animals, and buildings, and adds to them flowers-and-birds and demons-and-spirits. He provides information on 322 painters from earliest times to the mid-Tang, and on imperial and monastic picture collections. The fifteen sections of the 'Introduction' cover not only the principles of painting but also practical matters such as seals, mountings, and prices. Zhang followed one of his own sources, Zong Bing (...