He trained as a doctor in China. From 1928 - 1935, he studied t'ai chi ch'uan with Yang Cheng-Fu. He was considered a master of the "Five Excellences": Medicine, Calligraphy, Poetry, Painting and Taijiquan.
He published Cheng's 13 Chapters of Taiji Boxing in 1950 which has been translated into English twice. In 1967 in collaboration with Robert W. Smith, he published Tai Chi, the Supreme Ultimate exercise for health, sport and self defence. Other translations of his works include: Master Cheng's New Method of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation; Cheng Man Ch'ing: Essays on Man and Culture; Cheng Man Ch'ing: Master of Five Excellences, and T'ai Chi Ch'uan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health and Self-Defense
After a career as a physician, senator and martial artist in Taiwan, Professor Cheng emigrated to the United States, where he ran the Shr Jung Tai Chi School in New York City's Chinatown section. The Taipei branch of the Shr Jung school is still operating under the direction of Liu Shi Heng.