Born in 1925 in Longtan, Taoyuan, Chung Chao-cheng originally attended a public school and later entered private Tamkang Secondary School. After failing the entrance exam, he temporarily acted as a teaching assistant in an elementary school and later entered Changhua Youth Normal School. A fever impaired his hearing. After the retrocession of Taiwan, he passed the exam and entered the Department of Chinese Literature in National Taiwan University, but dropped out because of his hearing disorder. He returned to teach at Longtan Elementary School. During his career, he served as the chief editor of the Commons Daily Supplement and Taiwan Literary Magazine, and taught in the university.