Zhang Lin (1948) was a native of Huxian County, Shaanxi Province. He started painting in 1965, and his first work was published in the October 1965 issue of People's Pictorial (人民画报). Many of his works were published in selections of Huxian peasant painters' designs that appeared in 1970 and 1974. On a 1974 edition of one of his works, he is identified as a member of the Niudong Commune, Dongfengsheng Brigade (牛东公社东丰盛大队).

In 1976, Zhang lectured at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, under the guidance of Liu Wenxi and others. From 1981 to 1985, he began to move into society, sketching from life in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an and Qinba Mountains; from 1986 to 1987, he worked as a professional teacher in the art class of Huxian Higher Vocational School; from 1987 to 1998, he was employed in Yili, Xinjiang Stud Farm No. 1.