Lady Chang's father was Chang Hanp'il, the magistrate of Munui (문의) in Chungcheong Province, and her mother was a concubine from the cheonmin class.
Because of this status, she lived as a servant of Grand Prince Jean (제안대군), the son of King Yejong and Queen Ansun, and Yeonsangun's legal uncle. After having a son with another servant named Gano (가노), she learned singing and dancing, and became a courtesan. Despite not being particularly beautiful, she had a vibrant and youthful appearance, and possessed a natural talent for music.
As royal consort
Upon hearing her voice, Yeonsangun took Lady Chang into the palace, appointed her as a royal consort of the junior fourth rank (숙원;sugwon), sent gifts to her family, granted her slaves, fields and a residence, and bestowed an official position upon Grand Prince Jean's father-in-law, Kim Sumal (김수말). One year after entering the palace, she was elevated to the junior third rank (숙용;sugyong). In early 1506, Lady Chang's elder sister and her children were freed, becoming commoners. Based on the king's favor, her brother-in-law had alsoo previously received an official post.
Lady Chang seems to have treated Yeonsangun like a subordinate, but he favored her so much that all rulings and punishments were made under her influence. Although Lady Chang was living in the palace, private houses were demolished to build a new residence for her. In 1504, an official named Yi Byongchong (이병정) was imprisoned after supposedly insulting a servant from her residence, and was only able to avoid harm by giving a large portion of his family fortune to Lady Chang; even after the incident, he had to bribe her several more times. In 1505, Ok Chihwa (옥지화), a lower-ranking courtesan, was sentenced to beheading and had her head displayed after stepping on Lady Chang's skirt.
Death
During the Jungjong Restoration, Lady Chang was captured and then beheaded in front of the Military Arsenal (군기시), alongside Sugyong Jeon (숙용 전씨), Sugwon Kim (숙원 김씨) and others. The enraged crowd threw stones and roof tiles at her corpse.
