# Liao Ching-sung

Liao Ching-sung (Chinese: 廖慶松; born March 5, 1950), also known as "Liao-san" (廖桑), is a Taiwanese film editor, known for his work with Taiwanese New Wave directors such as Hou Hisao-Hsien, Edward Yang and Wan Jen. He has received numerous accolades including two Golden Horse Awards for Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year, as well as the Special Contribution Award of Golden Horse Awards in 2018.
In addition to his work as an editor, Liao has also co-written screenplays with Wan Jen for Super Citizen (超級市民) and Super Citizen Ko (超級大國民). He has directed several movies, including Be My Lovely Child Again (期待你長大), and When the Ocean Is Blue (海水正藍). Since Flowers of Shanghai (海上花), he has also been the producer for many of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's films.

## Early life

After graduating from Taipei Municipal Chenggong High School, Liao Ching-Sung failed his college entrance exams. Instead of devoting another year to entering college, he applied for the technical training program of Central Pictures Corporation (中影技術訓練班). Of roughly 200 applicants, only 50 were selected and Liao was among them. He was enrolled in October 1973 and joined the Central Pictures Editing Room (中影剪接室) in early 1974. The training program was divided into different groups for sound recording, editing, lighting, printing, and photography, among which Liao chose to study editing. He excelled in his studies and ranked first in his class upon graduation.

## Career

Liao started working as an assistant editor for Eternal Glory (英烈千秋) at Central Pictures in 1974. Later that year, he met Hou Hsiao-Hsien while working at the Department of short film production at Central Pictures.
In 1978, Liao was nominated for his first Golden Horse Award for editing Lee Hsing's movie, He Never Gives Up (汪洋中的一條船).
In 1980, Liao embarked on his first attempt at a new editing style with the film Love on The Wave (我踏浪而來) directed by Chen Kun-Hou (陳坤厚), in which he allowed a take to go longer than the customary style of studio films of the 1970s. The turning point of his career as a film editor did not occur until 1983, when he began editing The Boys from Fengkuei (風櫃來的人) directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. This film allowed him to break free from traditional editing rules and experiment with a new approach that shifted from "narrative logic" to "emotional logic".
Liao Ching-Sung's editing expertise has been sought after not only by Taiwanese directors like Yee Chih-Yen (易智言), Chen Hsin-yi (陳芯宜), and Yang Ya-Che (楊雅喆), but also by Mainland Chinese directors such as Wang Xiao-Shuai (王小帥) and Liu Jie (劉杰). His editing work on Beijing Bicycle (十七歲的單車) earned it the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 2001, while Courthouse on Horseback (馬背上的法院) was nominated in the Horizon section at the Venice Film Festival in 2006.
In recent years, Liao has continued to work on Mainland Chinese films that have garnered recognition at various film festivals, including Tharlo (塔洛), which received four Golden Horse Awards nominations, Knife in the Clear Water (清水裡的刀子), which won the New Currents Award at the Busan Film Festival, Suburban Birds (郊區的鳥), which was nominated for the competition at the Locarno Film Festival, and The Summer Is Gone (八月), which won the Best Picture award at the Golden Horse Awards. All of these films were edited by Liao Ching-Sung.

## Filmography

Director :
| Year | Chinese Title | English Title |
| 1987 | 期待你長大 | Be My Lovely Child Again |
| 1988 | 海水正藍 | When The Ocean Is Blue |
| 2004 | 大選民 | Sacrificial Victims |
Screenplay Writer :
| Year | Chinese Title | English Title |
| 1985 | 超級市民 | Super Citizen |
| 1994 | 超級大國民 | Super Citizen Ko |
Editor :
| Year | Chinese Title | English Title | Note |
| 1974 | 英烈千秋 | Everlasting Glory | assistant editor |
| 1976 | 八百壯士 | Eight Hundred Heroes | co-editor |
| 1978 | 汪洋中的一條船 | He Never Gives Up | |
| 1979 | 錦標 | A Title Rewon | |
| 1980 | 西風的故鄉 | The Blind Love | |
| 1980 | 血濺冷鷹堡 | Mission over the Eagle Castle | |
| 1980 | 天涼好個秋 | Spring in Autumn | |
| 1980 | 原鄉人 | My Native Land | |
| 1980 | 風雨中的燕子 | A Swallow in the Storm | |
| 1980 | 我踏浪而來 | Love on The Wave | |
| 1981 | Z字特攻隊 | Z Men | |
| 1981 | 上尉與我 | The Captain and I | |
| 1981 | 就是溜溜的她 | Cute Girls | |
| 1981 | 龍的傳人 | The Land of the Brave | |
| 1981 | 熱血 | The Call Of Duty | |
| 1981 | 男生女生實驗班 | Male and Female Experimental Class | |
| 1981 | 跟我說愛我 | | |
| 1981 | 風兒踢踏踩 | Cheerful Wind | |
| 1982 | 俏如彩蝶飛飛飛 | Six Is Company | |
| 1982 | 動員令 | Happy Days in the Army | |
| 1982 | 在那河畔青草青 | Green, Green Grass of Home | |
| 1982 | 光陰的故事 | In Our Time | |
| 1982 | 癡情奇女子 | | |
| 1983 | 最長的一夜 | The Night Ever So Long | |
| 1983 | 竹劍少年 | Kendo Kinds | |
| 1983 | 代課老師 | Now Taiwan Young Men | |
| 1983 | 油麻菜籽 | Ah-Fei | |
| 1983 | 小畢的故事 | Growing Up | |
| 1983 | 兒子的大玩偶 | The Sandwich Man | |
| 1983 | 海灘的一天 | That Day on The Beach | |
| 1984 | 阿福的禮物 | The Gift of A Fu | |
| 1984 | 單車與我 | The Bike and I | |
| 1984 | 小爸爸的天空 | Out of The Blue | |
| 1984 | 我愛瑪麗 | I Love Mary | |
| 1984 | 霧裡的笛聲 | Nature is Quiet Beautiful | |
| 1984 | 風櫃來的人 | The Boys from Fengkuei | |
| 1984 | 冬冬的假期 | A Summer at Grandpas | |
| 1985 | 超級市民 | Super Citizen | |
| 1985 | 結婚 | His Matrimony | |
| 1985 | 童年往事 | A Time to Live, A Time to Die | |
| 1986 | 流浪少年路 | Drifters | |
| 1986 | 恐怖份子 | The Terrorizers | |
| 1986 | 戀戀風塵 | Dust in The Wind | |
| 1986 | 福德正神 | Fu De Zheng Shen | |
| 1987 | 桂花巷 | Osmanthus Alley | |
| 1987 | 惜別海岸 | The Farewell Coast | |
| 1987 | 期待你長大 | Be My Lovely Child Again | |
| 1987 | 尼羅河女兒 | Daughter of The Nile | |
| 1988 | 春秋茶室 | Spring and Autumn Tea House | |
| 1989 | 悲情城市 | A City of Sadness | |
| 1989 | 立體奇兵 | The 3-D Army | |
| 1990 | 阿嬰 | Ming Ghost | |
| 1990 | 兄弟珍重 | Fraternity | |
| 1991 | 上海假期 | My American Grandson | |
| 1991 | 胭脂 | The Story of Taipei Women | |
| 1992 | 少年吔，安啦！ | Dust of Angels | |
| 1993 | 戲夢人生 | The Puppetmaster | |
| 1994 | 多桑 | A Borrowed Life | |
| 1994 | 超級大國民 | Super Citizen Ko | |
| 1995 | 好男好女 | Good Men, Good Women | |
| 2001 | 千禧曼波 | Millennium Mambo | |
| 2001 | 愛你愛我 | Betelnut Beauty | |
| 2002 | 美麗時光 | The Best of Times | |
| 2002 | 7-11之戀 | Love at 7-11 | |
| 2002 | 十七歲的單車 | Beijing Bicycle | |
| 2002 | 夢幻部落 | Somewhere Over The Dreamland | |
| 2002 | 藍色大門 | Blue Gate Crossing | |
| 2004 | 五月之戀 | Love of May | |
| 2004 | 20.30.40 | 20.30.40 | |
| 2005 | 愛麗絲的鏡子 | Reflections | |
| 2006 | 血戰到底 | Karmic Mahjong | |
| 2006 | 太陽雨 | Rain Dogs | |
| 2006 | 馬背上的法院 | Courthouse on Horseback | |
| 2006 | 姨媽的後現代生活 | The Postmodern Life of My Aunt | |
| 2006 | 吳清源 | The Go Master | |
| 2006 | 練習曲 | Island Etude | |
| 2007 | 尋找蔣經國─有！我是蔣經國 | Chiang Ching-kuo | |
| 2007 | 紅氣球 | Flight of the Red Balloon | |
| 2007 | 流浪神狗人 | God Man Dog | |
| 2022 | 石門 | Stonewalling | |
Producer :
| Year | Chinese Title | English Title | Note |
| 1994 | 超級大國民 | Super Citizen Ko | |
| 1998 | 海上花 | Flowers of Shanghai | |
| 2001 | 千禧曼波 | Millennium Mambo | |
| 2002 | 夢幻部落 | Somewhere Over The Dreamland | |
| 2004 | 風中緋櫻─霧社事件 | Dana Sakura | TV series |
| 2005 | 最好的時光 | Three Times | |
| 2005 | 愛麗絲的鏡子 | Reflections | |
| 2007 | 紅氣球 | Flight of the Red Balloon | |

## Awards and honors

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Outcome |
| 1978 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | He Never Gives Up | Nominated |
| 1984 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | The Boys from Fengkuei | Nominated |
| 1985 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | His Matrimony | Nominated |
| 1989 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | A City of Sadness | Nominated |
| 1995 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | Good Men, Good Women | Nominated |
| 1995 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Super Citizen Ko | Nominated |
| 2001 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | Beijing Bicycle | Nominated |
| 2002 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | The Best Of Times | Nominated |
| 2002 | The Golden Horse Awards | Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year | | Won |
| 2005 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | Three Times | Nominated |
| 2013 | The Golden Horse Awards | Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year | | Won |
| 2015 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | The Assassin | Nominated |
| 2017 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | The Foolish Bird | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Golden Horse Awards | Best Editing Award | Us And Them | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Golden Horse Awards | Special Contribution Award | | Won |