Born in 1951, Chang Yi used to work as an editor for a film magazine company, where he wrote film critics and short stories. "The Pioneers," his serial novel publish on Shin Sheng Daily News in 1979 was later adapted into a screenplay because of its popularity. In 1982, he became one of the directors of Taiwan New Cinema after filming the episode titled "Say Your Name" in the vignette film "In Our Times." Since 1984, Chang made "Jade Love," "Kuei-mei, A Woman," and "This Love of Mine," which are later dubbed the "trilogy of woman's film" for its illustration of the complex emotions in the inner world of traditional women. Among them, "This Love of Mine" was selected as one of the Top Ten Taiwanese Film Masterpieces from the Last 100 Years (1895-1995) by Variety.

Later he also tried his hand in animation, and completed making his first short animation titled "Heipigu" in 2005. The animation film was nominated for Best Short Film at the Golden Horse Awards and entered the Taiwan Competition category at the Taiwan International Animation Festival. In 2018, he was nominated for Best Animation Feature at the Golden Horse Awards for "A Dog's Life."

Having been engaging in the film industry for decades, Chang has earned multiple Golden Horse nominations, and won the Golden Horse Awards for best director, best adapted screenplay, and best feature film for "Kuei-mei, A Woman."

He founded LIULI Gong Fang in 1987.He left the film career behind and founded LIULI Gong Fang, and devoted himself to Liuli creation.

He died of illness in November 2020.