A native of Yancheng, Xuzhou (present-day Yancheng County, Henan) during the Northern Song Dynasty, he was a Jinshi in the Tianxi era. He served as the Judicial Commissioner of Daozhou, the Vice Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, the Vice Prefect of Jingzhou, the Collator of the Jixian Institute, the Reviewer of the Chongwen Institute, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Academician of the Zhimi Pavilion. He eventually rose to the position of Guest of the Crown Prince. He was erudite and well-informed, with a passion for collecting books. He conducted extensive research in the fields of the I Ching, geography, and medicine, and authored numerous works. He participated in the compilation of the Huangyou Fangyu Tuzhi and the Dili Xinshu. He also wrote the Junguo Shoujian, among others. In the second year of Jiayou (1057), he was commissioned to revise the Kaibao Bencao together with Lin Dang, Su Song, Zhang Dong, and others. Zhang Yu-xi, along with medical officials Jia Zonggu and Zhu Youzhang, used the Kaibao Bencao as a foundation, referencing various materia medica texts for corrections and additions. They compiled the Jiayou Buzhu Shennong Bencao in 20 volumes, which was completed in the fifth year of Jiayou (1060).