Chen Liting was a Chinese playwright, drama and film director, screenwriter, and film theorist. He was one of the most prominent film directors and screenwriters in pre-Communist China. His patriotic play Put Down Your Whip was highly influential and performed countless times during the Japanese invasion of China.

After the early 1950s, Chen's attempts at filmmaking were repeatedly thwarted by the Communist government for political reasons. He worked as general manager of Tianma Film Studio until he was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution. After his rehabilitation at the end of the period, he spent three years on the historical film Da Feng Ge, but retired after that film was also cancelled due to political reasons.