A native of Qiantang (now Hangzhou), Zhejiang. His father once served as the Sima of Yongchun and later as the magistrate of Longxi. During the Qianlong period (1736-1795), a major epidemic broke out in Xiasha, and his father invited doctors to prepare medicines, saving tens of thousands of lives. Xuemin and his younger brother Xuekai, both followed their father's orders to study Confucianism and medicine. Xuemin extensively read various books, including those on astrology, medicine, and pharmacology that were kept at home, delving deeply into research. Whenever he gained new insights, he compiled them into volumes, accumulating thousands of scrolls of manuscripts. His family had a "Yangsu Garden," a place for experimenting with medicinal plants to observe their forms and properties, and a "Liji Hall," a clinic for diagnosing and treating illnesses. The brothers lived and worked there, achieving many successful treatments. A clansman, Zhao Baiyun, was a traveling doctor who shared effective prescriptions with them. Xuemin combined these with his lifelong collection of odd-ingredient formulas and authored Chuanya Neibian and Chuanya Waibian (written in 1759), each in four volumes, containing over a thousand prescriptions and methods.

In the 30th year of Qianlong (1765), he completed Bencao Gangmu Shiyi, filling gaps and collecting omissions, making it a renowned work of the era.

Zhao also had several other works, but unfortunately, only the above two books were completed.