李清喺馬來西亞吉隆坡出世。曾就讀上海英華中學。1935年考入上海「明星影片公司」舉辦嘅「明星人才養成所」；受訓後做演員，第一部戲係《翡翠馬》（1935），成名作係《生死同心》（1936）。1937年，他轉去「聯華影片公司」，《聯華交響曲》（1937）中嘅《月下小景》係佢主演嘅第一部影片。
Li Qing was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Studied at Shanghai Yinghua High School. In 1935, he was admitted to the "Star Talent Training Institute" organized by the "Star Film Company" in Shanghai, and after training as an actor, his first play was "The Jade Horse" (1935), and his famous work was "Life and Death Together" (1936). In 1937, he moved to the United Chinese Film Company, and "A Little Scene Under the Moon" in the Lianhua Symphony (1937) was his first starring film.