Ling was born in Beijing to a Manchu family originally from Hejiang, Luzhou, in Sichuan Province.
In 1943, he became a professor at the theatre department of the Lu Xun Academy of Art, an art school in Yan'an founded in 1938 by Chinese Communist Party leaders, including Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
In 1945, he married the actress Shi Lianxing (石联星 1914–1984), who later gained wide acclaim for her role as Zhao Yiman (赵一曼), the heroine of the eponymous biopic (1950) by Sha Meng (沙蒙 1907–1964).
In 1946, Ling was commissioned by the Chinese Communist Party to set up a film team and a studio in Yan'an to produce a propaganda movie on "The hero of work Wu Manyou" (劳动英雄吴满友) which was released later in 1946.
He started a second career in the 1980s as a master of literary adaptations and was acclaimed, in 1995, as pre-eminent Chinese film director of the 20th century.