Cai was born in Shanghai to Cantonese parents, but raised in Chaoyang, Guangdong. He only had four years of formal education, and was home-schooled after he had spoken up for his class about the misbehavior of a teacher. While home-schooled, he studied Confucianism and practiced calligraphy and painting. Cai Chusheng initially worked in low-level positions in several small studios during the 1920s, before eventually joining Mingxing Film Company as a director's assistant to Zheng Zhengqiu, another Chaoyang-native. Cai later joined the Lianhua Film Company where he directed a handful of mainstream popular films including Spring in the South and Pink Dream. He would not cement his reputation as a leading leftist filmmaker until after the Japanese attack in 1932, when Cai, like many of his colleagues, shifted towards increasingly progressive or leftist filmmaking. This shift can be seen in output after 1932, including the class-struggle dramas Dawn Over the Metropolis, Song of the Fishermen, and the proto-feminist New Women, which starred Ruan Lingyu. Song of the Fishermen, for example, was a major box office success in Shanghai where it played for 87 days, and it would also become the first Chinese film to win an international prize, doing so at the Moscow International Film Festival.
Hong Kong and wartime
During the war, Cai fled first to Hong Kong, where he helped launch Mandarin-language cinema with Situ Huimin. In Hong Kong, Cai would also direct two films, including an anti-Japanese thriller. Cai was also a pioneer in making films in local dialects, and the first to make movies in Cantonese. He also made movies in Chaozhou dialect. When Hong Kong fell to the Japanese, Cai fled to Chongqing, China's wartime capital, where he joined the government-run Nationalist Central Film Studio.
Post-war career
Cai's post-war career saw him returning to Shanghai and becoming a leading member of the Lianhua Film Society. His collaboration with Zheng JunliThe Spring River Flows East also proved to be a major film and popular success in the brief "Second Golden Age" of Cinema that followed the end of the Second World War. Following the Communist revolution, Cai worked mainly in major government administrative tasks. He also actively involved in promoting Chinese film industry and also formed an organization to monitor the quality of movies and to recognize talented artists in the industry. He did make one major post-1949 film, Waves on the Southern Shore.
Death and legacy
As the Cultural Revolution began to gain momentum in the late 1960s, Cai Chusheng, like many artists and intellectuals, became the target of persecution. Cai was forced to self-criticize and admit his mistakes in writing. Cai was tortured which had led to his early death in 1968. His ashes are now placed at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. The house where Cai spent his youth is now a museum which is designated by the Chinese government as a certified historical attraction. Cai is honored from time to time at major events like the World Expo 2010 and film festivals. In Stanley Kwan's 1991 biopic of Ruan Lingyu, Center Stage, Cai Chusheng is portrayed by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka Fai. Ruan was one of the Chinese most prominent actress. This film is about Cai's controversial romance with Ruan. Ruan had committed suicide at the age of 24 due to the news media's irresponsible criticism. Cai condemned the press, which had sparked a ripple effect to raise awareness for responsible conduct in the media. Cai was also very active in promoting the social status and literacy of women—when he had time available, he would teach classes to Chinese women to improve their literacy.
