A brief introduction and historical evaluation of Zhang Jiuzhang, the younger brother of Zhang Jiuling
Zhang Jiuling's younger brother, Zhang Jiuzhang, was a writer in the Tang Dynasty. He was famous for his prose. His younger brother Zhang Jiuzhang was also good at writing and was praised as a Tang Dynasty essayist with his brother. In his early years, Zhang Jiuzhang served as an official in the Sui Dynasty and then entered the Tang Dynasty. He served as secretary of the provincial government, school secretary, imperial censor, chief of the Ministry of Punishment, etc. After Tang Dezong ascended the throne, Zhang Jiuzhang was worshiped as prime minister and enjoyed a high reputation in the political world. In terms of prose, Zhang Jiuzhang's style of writing was fresh, natural, and full of emotions, especially good at describing characters. His prose mostly involved the character, quality, behavior and other aspects of the portrait, known as one of the best works of the Tang Dynasty prose. However, Zhang Jiuzhang was suspected and imprisoned during the late Tang and Five Dynasties because he had an old friend with Zhu Quanzhong, the Taizu of the Later Liang Dynasty. His prose also suffered a certain loss because of this. In general, Zhang Jiuzhang, the younger brother of Zhang Jiuling, as an essayist of the Tang Dynasty, had a certain literary value. However, due to his poor political performance and the historical influence of his prose, his literary status was controversial in some aspects.