He appeared in over 100 films and TV series throughout his career and was best known for playing paternal roles in Ang Lee's films Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman.

Lung enlisted in Chiang Kai-shek's army as a teenager to fight the Chinese Communist Party.

After the Communists seized control of mainland China, he escaped to Taiwan, where he was selected to join an army-sponsored acting troupe.

[3] Lung's sensitive portrayal of an elderly man faced with change turned him into an international star and he became famous for playing fathers struggling with modernity and adult children in the movies known to some fans as the "Father Knows Best" trilogy.

[5] By the time he appeared as "Sir Te", guardian of a mystical sword in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lung's health had deteriorated due to diabetes.