Zhang Zhi-cong, styled Yin'an, was originally from Henan and a 43rd-generation descendant of Zhang Zhongjing. His eleventh-generation ancestor moved to Qiantang for an official post and settled by the lake, making him a native of Hangzhou. He was born in the 38th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1610 AD) and passed away in the 34th year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1695 AD), living to the age of 86. After losing his father at a young age, he abandoned Confucian studies to pursue medicine, studying under the renowned physician Zhang Qing-zi and benefiting from the teachings of the famous doctor Lu Zhi-yi. He extensively read medical texts from earlier scholars, delving deeply into medical theory, and gained significant insights into the Neijing and the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases.

Zhi-cong, during his decades-long medical career, aimed to promote the field of medicine. He established the Lyushantang on Xiangshan in Hangzhou, gathering dozens of colleagues and disciples to discuss medical studies, marking a significant development in the private apprenticeship model of Chinese medicine education.

He authored works such as Collected Annotations on the Suwen, Collected Annotations on the Lingshu, The Essence of the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, Annotations on the Jingui Yaolue, Lyushantang's Classified Discriminations, and Bencao Chongyuan, among others, which circulated widely. His Secret Transmission of Acupuncture and Moxibustion is now lost. In his later years, he also wrote the Outline of the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases in nine volumes (1673) and compiled annotations from various scholars on the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases into the Collected Annotations on the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases. The book was unfinished at the time of his death and was later completed by his disciples in six volumes.