Born in Kuching, Malaysia, he graduated from the Drama and Cinema Department of the Chinese Cultural University of Taiwan. In the beginning of his fruitful career he worked as a theatrical playwright/produced an TV director. In 1991 he discovered Lee Kang-Sheng, who went on to become Tsai’s favourite and regular actor in almost all Tsai’s films. His second film Vive l’Amour won the Golden Lion for the best picture at Venice ‘94.