Pai Ching-jui was born in 1931 in Yingkou, Liaoning. He came to Taiwan in 1949. After studying at the foreign language department of Taiwan Provincial Teachers’College (now National Taiwan Normal University), he transferred to the school's art department. He was inspired by Italian neorealism films to become the first person from Taiwan to study film in Italy. He first entered the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma studying painting and stage design, later studying film at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After completing his studies in 1964, he returned to Taiwan and worked at the Central Motion Picture Company. Beginning in the 1970s, he tried his hand at romantic art films and adaptations of literary works. He died in 1997 of a heart attack.