Zhang Chuangsheng is an author about whom little public information is available; only two works of his are known to be held in the collection, Chongqing Anecdotes (Chongqing Zhanggu) and Five Thousand Years of Anecdotes (Wuqian Nian Zhanggu). Judging from the titles and their classification in the collection as history reading and Eastern philosophy, his writing is directed toward historical topics and traditional Chinese thought, presenting historical figures, local lore, and allusions through the traditional notebook form of zhanggu, or anecdotes. Chongqing Anecdotes focuses on the cultural and historical past of Chongqing, while Five Thousand Years of Anecdotes extends the scope to a much longer historical span. Together they reflect the author's attention to anecdotal material that lies outside official histories. Such writing is typically composed of short notes linked into a book, in plain language, making it easy for general readers to learn about history and local culture in spare moments, and serving both to popularize knowledge and to preserve leads for historical sources. Because verifiable information on his life, native place, and academic background is lacking, his identity and experience remain to be further confirmed, and readers can chiefly come to know his writing orientation through the works mentioned above.
