Jin Bi was from Yishui (present-day Yi County, Hebei). He was intelligent from a young age, passing the "Child Scholar Examination" at the age of 8 and attempting the "Classics-Based" imperial examination at 27. However, he failed due to violating a "temple taboo" and subsequently abandoned his pursuit of an official career to study medicine. Initially, his medical skills were not refined, but after in-depth research into medical classics such as Neijing, his medical expertise greatly improved. Once, the renowned physician Liu Wan-su suffered from cold-damage disease for several days, experiencing headaches, tight pulses, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Despite self-treatment, his condition did not improve. Zhang Yuan-su went to diagnose him, but Liu treated him coldly. Zhang explained the medical principles and prescribed a single dose of medicine, which cured Liu. This greatly impressed Liu Wan-su, and Zhang Yuan-su's reputation soared.

Jiegu (Zhang Yuan-su) emphasized the differentiation of zang-fu organs and the nurturing of stomach qi, which significantly influenced Li Gao in establishing a systematic spleen-stomach theory characterized by "tonifying the earth." This eventually became the most prominent theoretical feature of the "Yishui School." After Zhang Yuan-su's academic ideas took shape, they were inherited, developed, and expanded by his disciples and later physicians, becoming a major school with a distinct academic style during the Yuan Dynasty, rivaling the "Hejian School." The two schools debated and mutually promoted each other, ultimately leading to the flourishing of Jin-Yuan medicine.

Few of Zhang Yuan-su's academic works survive today, with the main ones being Yixue Qiyuan, Zhenzhunang (abridged version), and Jiegu Jia Zhen.