Zhang Jian from the age of 16 years of age to admit students, by 18 years old, 21 years old, 23 years old, 24 years old, 27 years old before and after the five times to Jiangning Province should be Jiangnan township examination (commonly known as the Southern Exam) have not won the test. Until the eleventh year of Guangxu (1885) at the age of 33, due to Sun Yunjin official Jiangning Prefectural Yin, the children are routinely shunned, turned to Shuntian Prefecture countryside examination (commonly known as the Northern Examination), only to take the second candidate, commonly known as "South Yuan" (South people listed in the northern list of the first name), reputation is gradually outstanding, become "Qingliu In February, the ministry of justice will test, take the sixtieth in the tributary; in March, the ministry of justice in the tenth in the first class, "initially set eleven, changshu division to change the tenth"; April 24th when the temple test weng tongkotewall ordered to collect the scrolls of the officer sitting waiting for zhangjian to hand over the scrolls, and then sent directly to their hands, after a hasty review, and strive to be promoted. Weng Tong Kotewall not only did the work of other ministers, Zhang Jian's paper as the first, but also in the Guangxu emperor introduced, specially introduced: "Zhang Jian, Jiangnan famous scholar, and filial son also."
At the beginning of the twenty-second year of Guangxu (1896), Zhang Zhidong sent Zhang Jian, Lu Runyang, Ding Liying to set up a business bureau in Tongzhou, Suzhou and Zhenjiang, respectively, and Zhang Jian and Lu Runyang founded the Dasheng Yarn Factory and Sulun Yarn Factory in Nantong and Suzhou, respectively.
The development of national industry required science and technology, which in turn prompted Zhang Jian to organize schools and devote himself to teacher education first. In February of Guangxu 28 (1902), Zhang Jian was invited by the Governor of the two rivers, Liu Kunyi, to Jiangning to discuss the matter of schooling, Liu Kunyi was in favor of it, while Wu, Xu, Salt Road, Wu, the feudal lord, obstructed it. Zhang Jian sighed, is with Luo Shuji S?lve, Tang Shouqian and other people planning to set up their own teacher training in Tongzhou, calculated that Zhang Jian from the office of the five years since the Tongzhou Yarn Factory should be unspent public funds with interest 20,000 yuan, plus persuade the collection of financial assistance can be made. On July 9 of the same year, Tongzhou Normal selected Nantong City, southeast of the Thousand Buddha Temple as the site of construction, the following year officially opened, which is China's first teacher training school, its construction marks the beginning of China's teacher training specialized institutions.