In Paris he established the Ton-ying Company (Chinese: 通运公司; pinyin: Tongyun Gongsi), with a gallery on the Place de la Madeleine,  which imported Chinese tea, silk, and art.
This was the first of its kind in France, and employed, among others, C.T. Loo, who was to become one of the most influential dealers of Chinese art.
With the financial assistance of $300,000 Chinese dollars from his father, the firm was the basis of Zhang's own considerable fortune.
 Ton-ying remained a family business branching out to New York from its original base in Paris and its source in Shanghai.
Because of Zhang’s position in China, the Company was able to source high quality works of art directly, including items from the old Imperial Collection.
Although Zhang later dealt extensively on the Shanghai stock exchange, a great deal of his wealth and therefore the financing of the Nationalist cause, came from the profits created by the Ton-ying Company.

 Li soon introduced Zhang to the doctrines of Anarchism and they began to apply them to analyzing the situation in China.
Zhang told friends of the anti-religion and anti-family theories which he had adopted.
He also opposed traditional ideas of sex: "It is obvious," he told them, "the reason why society is divided along sexual lines is because of traditional customs.... It's not impossible to reform them."
Zhang's interest in anarchism later cooled, however, and he was probably more attracted by its aura of science and iconoclastic social reform than its political side.

On a trip to London in 1905, Zhang renewed his friendship with Wu Zhihui, who was nearly ten years older than Li and Zhang, and a deeper scholar.
Backed by Zhang's money, the three formed the Shijie she (The World), a publishing house for radical social ideas.
On a steamship returning from China to Europe in 1906, Zhang met and was entranced by Sun Yat-sen, the anti-Manchu revolutionist, giving him the first of many substantial contributions.
The two established a code for Sun to use if he needed money: "A" meant send $10,000 Chinese dollars, "B" meant send $20,000, and so forth.
On his return to Paris, Zhang led Wu and Li to join Sun's Tongmenghui, the more politically radical of the anti-Manchu groups.
Zhang had been sworn into the society by Hu Hanmin and Feng Ziyou, two of Sun's important lieutenants (in view of his attacks on religion, they allowed him to omit the oath "by heaven").

The three anarchists —Zhang, Li, and Wu — established a relationship which lasted for the rest of their lives.
In 1908, they started a journal, Xin Shiji (New Century), titled La Novaj Tempaj in Esperanto, funded by Zhang and edited by Wu.
Another major contributor was Chu Minyi, a student from Zhejiang who accompanied Zhang back from China and would help him travel in the years to come.
The journal translated radical French thinkers and introduced Chinese students in France to the history of radicalism, especially the anarchist classics of Peter Kropotkin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and Élisée Reclus.
They were especially impressed by their conversations with Jean Grave, who had spent two years in prison for publishing "Society on the Brink of Death" (1892) an anarchist pamphlet.
But Zhang, who continued to travel back and forth to China, did not have money enough to finance both Sun Yat-sen and the journal, which ceased publication in 1910.

When the Revolution of 1911 broke out, Zhang returned to China.
He was one of the organizers of the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, which sent worker-students to France.
Though he did not take up Sun's offer to be minister of finance, he continued to give financial support to Sun and his party, which became especially important when Sun was forced to flee to Japan as Yuan Shikai took control of the new republic.
Zhang used his money and charm to make friends in many parts of Shanghai society, including the underworld, and especially among those from Zhejiang province.
In Paris he established the Ton-ying Company (Chinese: 通运公司; pinyin: Tongyun Gongsi), with a gallery on the Place de la Madeleine,  which imported Chinese tea, silk, and art. This was the first of its kind in France, and employed, among others, C.T. Loo, who was to become one of the most influential dealers of Chinese art. With the financial assistance of $300,000 Chinese dollars from his father, the firm was the basis of Zhang's own considerable fortune.  Ton-ying remained a family business branching out to New York from its original base in Paris and its source in Shanghai. Because of Zhang’s position in China, the Company was able to source high quality works of art directly, including items from the old Imperial Collection. Although Zhang later dealt extensively on the Shanghai stock exchange, a great deal of his wealth and therefore the financing of the Nationalist cause, came from the profits created by the Ton-ying Company. 
 Li soon introduced Zhang to the doctrines of Anarchism and they began to apply them to analyzing the situation in China. Zhang told friends of the anti-religion and anti-family theories which he had adopted. He also opposed traditional ideas of sex: "It is obvious," he told them, "the reason why society is divided along sexual lines is because of traditional customs.... It's not impossible to reform them." Zhang's interest in anarchism later cooled, however, and he was probably more attracted by its aura of science and iconoclastic social reform than its political side. 
On a trip to London in 1905, Zhang renewed his friendship with Wu Zhihui, who was nearly ten years older than Li and Zhang, and a deeper scholar. Backed by Zhang's money, the three formed the Shijie she (The World), a publishing house for radical social ideas. On a steamship returning from China to Europe in 1906, Zhang met and was entranced by Sun Yat-sen, the anti-Manchu revolutionist, giving him the first of many substantial contributions. The two established a code for Sun to use if he needed money: "A" meant send $10,000 Chinese dollars, "B" meant send $20,000, and so forth. On his return to Paris, Zhang led Wu and Li to join Sun's Tongmenghui, the more politically radical of the anti-Manchu groups. Zhang had been sworn into the society by Hu Hanmin and Feng Ziyou, two of Sun's important lieutenants (in view of his attacks on religion, they allowed him to omit the oath "by heaven").
The three anarchists —Zhang, Li, and Wu — established a relationship which lasted for the rest of their lives. In 1908, they started a journal, Xin Shiji (New Century), titled La Novaj Tempaj in Esperanto, funded by Zhang and edited by Wu. Another major contributor was Chu Minyi, a student from Zhejiang who accompanied Zhang back from China and would help him travel in the years to come. The journal translated radical French thinkers and introduced Chinese students in France to the history of radicalism, especially the anarchist classics of Peter Kropotkin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and Élisée Reclus. They were especially impressed by their conversations with Jean Grave, who had spent two years in prison for publishing "Society on the Brink of Death" (1892) an anarchist pamphlet. But Zhang, who continued to travel back and forth to China, did not have money enough to finance both Sun Yat-sen and the journal, which ceased publication in 1910. 
When the Revolution of 1911 broke out, Zhang returned to China. He was one of the organizers of the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, which sent worker-students to France. Though he did not take up Sun's offer to be minister of finance, he continued to give financial support to Sun and his party, which became especially important when Sun was forced to flee to Japan as Yuan Shikai took control of the new republic. Zhang used his money and charm to make friends in many parts of Shanghai society, including the underworld, and especially among those from Zhejiang province.
Zhang Renjie