During these years, Zhang did well on the Shanghai stock market and shared his earnings with Sun and the emerging Nationalist Party (GMD).
 His  GMD friends from Zhejiang included Chen Qimei, a patron of the then unknown Chiang Kai-shek.
When Chen was assassinated, apparently on orders of Yuan Shikai, Zhang took over Chen's role as Chiang's mentor.
After Yuan's death in 1916, Sun continued to rely on Zhang, and Zhang offered Chiang Kai-shek substantial financial help, personal advice, and key political backing.
On a visit to Zhang's home, Chiang met Ah Feng (Jennie), a friend of Zhu Yimin, Zhang's second wife, and immediately determined to marry her.
When Ah Feng's family commissioned a detective report which found that Chiang was not only unemployed but also had a wife and concubine, Zhang reassured them that he would vouch for the young man's good intentions.
At their wedding, Zhang delivered a speech wishing the couple happiness and success.
 Zhang also hit it off with Chen Lifu, another of Chiang's most important advisers and supporters, also from Zhejiang, organizer of the right-wing CC Clique 
 In 1923, Sun invited Soviet advisors to reorganize the Nationalist Party and incorporate the Chinese communists, setting up an internal rivalry between the left and the right wings.
Zhang, as a right-wing leader, was elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC), along with Li Shizeng, Wu Zhihui, and Cai Yuanpei, all from Zhejiang.
They became known as the GMD's  “Four Elders", or Yuanlao (国民党元老), in Japanese, genrō.
Chiang Kai-shek built his rise to power and subsequent long political life on his ability to skillfully using this and other groups for a certain time, then shifting his support to opposing factions to keep both friends and enemies off balance.

When Sun died in 1925, Zhang was one of the witnesses to his deathbed Political Will, and was elected to the new State Council which convened in Canton.
In the Zhongshan Gunboat Incident of March 1926, Chiang Kai-shek's life was supposedly endangered by a kidnapping plot.
Chiang moved to suppress the Leftists, surprising many who had thought of him as a leftist, threatening a debilitating schism.
Zhang counseled Chiang against identifying himself too closely with the right, and may have attempted to reconcile Chiang with the leftist Wang Jingwei, who had been his friend from their anarchists days in Europe.
 
The Four Elders were fiercely anti-Communist.
Their anarchist principles led them to see the poor and uneducated as members of the Chinese nation, not members of the working class.
They accused the Communists of creating class divisions and promoting class warfare.
 The radical wing of the party, led by Wang Jingwei, who set up its own headquarters at Wuhan, mounted a campaign with the slogan "Down With The Muddle-headed, Old and Feeble Zhang Jingjiang."
Zhang remarked to his friend Chen Lifu, "if I were really muddle-headed, old, and feeble, would it be worthwhile to make the effort to knock me down?"
 A Soviet advisor recalled that Zhang "was able to generate incredible energy in the struggle with the leftists and Communists" even though he could not walk and had to be carried upstairs in his wheelchair.
 In April 1927, Zhang and the other Four Elders urged Chiang Kai-shek to purge the leftists and initiate the White Terror which killed thousands.

At this time, a rift opened between Zhang and Chiang Kai-shek which eventually became bitter and lasted until Zhang's death.
Zhang had introduced Chiang to his second wife, Jennie, who was a friend of his wife, Yao Hui, and had felt aggrieved when Chiang abandoned her for Soong Mei-ling.
To intimates Zhang confided "a man of moral integrity should not go back on his word, let alone a state leader!"
In the following years, Soong Mei-ling apparently resented Zhang for his loyalty to Jennie.
She and the Zhang family did not speak to each other.
In 1927, after the success of the Northern Expedition and the alliance with the wealthy Soong family, Chiang perhaps was in less need of Zhang's help, and might also have feared Z
During these years, Zhang did well on the Shanghai stock market and shared his earnings with Sun and the emerging Nationalist Party (GMD).  His  GMD friends from Zhejiang included Chen Qimei, a patron of the then unknown Chiang Kai-shek. When Chen was assassinated, apparently on orders of Yuan Shikai, Zhang took over Chen's role as Chiang's mentor. After Yuan's death in 1916, Sun continued to rely on Zhang, and Zhang offered Chiang Kai-shek substantial financial help, personal advice, and key political backing. On a visit to Zhang's home, Chiang met Ah Feng (Jennie), a friend of Zhu Yimin, Zhang's second wife, and immediately determined to marry her. When Ah Feng's family commissioned a detective report which found that Chiang was not only unemployed but also had a wife and concubine, Zhang reassured them that he would vouch for the young man's good intentions. At their wedding, Zhang delivered a speech wishing the couple happiness and success.  Zhang also hit it off with Chen Lifu, another of Chiang's most important advisers and supporters, also from Zhejiang, organizer of the right-wing CC Clique 
 In 1923, Sun invited Soviet advisors to reorganize the Nationalist Party and incorporate the Chinese communists, setting up an internal rivalry between the left and the right wings. Zhang, as a right-wing leader, was elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC), along with Li Shizeng, Wu Zhihui, and Cai Yuanpei, all from Zhejiang. They became known as the GMD's  “Four Elders", or Yuanlao (国民党元老), in Japanese, genrō. Chiang Kai-shek built his rise to power and subsequent long political life on his ability to skillfully using this and other groups for a certain time, then shifting his support to opposing factions to keep both friends and enemies off balance. 
When Sun died in 1925, Zhang was one of the witnesses to his deathbed Political Will, and was elected to the new State Council which convened in Canton. In the Zhongshan Gunboat Incident of March 1926, Chiang Kai-shek's life was supposedly endangered by a kidnapping plot. Chiang moved to suppress the Leftists, surprising many who had thought of him as a leftist, threatening a debilitating schism. Zhang counseled Chiang against identifying himself too closely with the right, and may have attempted to reconcile Chiang with the leftist Wang Jingwei, who had been his friend from their anarchists days in Europe.  
The Four Elders were fiercely anti-Communist. Their anarchist principles led them to see the poor and uneducated as members of the Chinese nation, not members of the working class. They accused the Communists of creating class divisions and promoting class warfare.  The radical wing of the party, led by Wang Jingwei, who set up its own headquarters at Wuhan, mounted a campaign with the slogan "Down With The Muddle-headed, Old and Feeble Zhang Jingjiang." Zhang remarked to his friend Chen Lifu, "if I were really muddle-headed, old, and feeble, would it be worthwhile to make the effort to knock me down?"  A Soviet advisor recalled that Zhang "was able to generate incredible energy in the struggle with the leftists and Communists" even though he could not walk and had to be carried upstairs in his wheelchair.  In April 1927, Zhang and the other Four Elders urged Chiang Kai-shek to purge the leftists and initiate the White Terror which killed thousands.
At this time, a rift opened between Zhang and Chiang Kai-shek which eventually became bitter and lasted until Zhang's death. Zhang had introduced Chiang to his second wife, Jennie, who was a friend of his wife, Yao Hui, and had felt aggrieved when Chiang abandoned her for Soong Mei-ling. To intimates Zhang confided "a man of moral integrity should not go back on his word, let alone a state leader!" In the following years, Soong Mei-ling apparently resented Zhang for his loyalty to Jennie. She and the Zhang family did not speak to each other. In 1927, after the success of the Northern Expedition and the alliance with the wealthy Soong family, Chiang perhaps was in less need of Zhang's help, and might also have feared Z
Zhang Renjie