Career
Born in Ankang County, Xingan Prefecture, Shaanxi, he went to the local miiitary academy in 1905 before transferring to Baoding Military Academy in 1906. In 1910, after graduating from the military academy, he returned to Shaanxi and was commissioned an officer He joined the Tongmenghui in 1911, and on October 22 of that year, participated in the Xi"an uprising of the Xinhai Revolution.
Yuan joined the Anhui clique after Yuan"s death in June 1916.
In 1917, he was opposed by Hu Jingyi, a former supporter, for his opposition to the Constitutional Protection Movement. Chen made peace with Hu after Hu tried to seek assistance from Yu Youren, who was acting on behalf of the southern government opposed to Beiyang.
In 1921, he was forced out of Shaanxi by Feng Yuxiang of the Zhili clique in the aftermath of his defeat in the Zhili-Anhui War. He fled to Sichuan, but was later forced out by the Sichuan clique who ruled the area.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he refused to be a collaborator and fled back to Sichuan.
He died in Hangzhou shortly after it was taken by the Communists.
