 He was appointed Vice-Chairman of the 2nd CPPCC, National Committee of the People’s Republic of China (1954–1959), and minister in charge of transportation.Vocal during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Zhang was removed by Mao Zedong from his minister's position and made a public enemy during the Anti-Rightist Campaign in 1957, being labeled "China’s number one rightist".His 10,000-volume family library was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.