Zhang Xushan graduated from the Department of History at Qufu Normal University in 1984. From 1991 to 1998, he studied in Greece, first at the School of Languages of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and later at the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina, where he received his PhD in 1998. After returning to China in 1999, he joined Tsinghua University, where he is currently a Professor in the Department of History. He also serves as a member of the Academic Committee of the Centre for Hellenic Studies at Peking University and as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Eastern European and Byzantine Studies at Nankai University.

Professor Zhang is primarily engaged in research on Byzantine history. He is proficient in English, Greek (both ancient and modern), and French.