He was best known for his performances in the television dramas the "Trilogy of Women" and the film Warm Spring.
[2] He entered the director training program of the Central Academy of Drama in 1954,[2] together with Ouyang Shanzun 欧阳山尊 and A Jia 阿甲.
[3][4] In the late 1980s, he gained wide fame for his role as the old peasant Maoyuan (茂源) in the television drama Fence, Women, and Dogs and two other series.
Two years later, Tian played one of his most beloved roles, as Grandpa in the film Warm Spring, for which he was nominated for the 9th Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actor.
[4] In 2019, he appeared in the television series New Story of the Six-Foot Alley (六尺巷新故事) at age 92.