After graduating from the Teaching Department of the Taipei Japanese School in 1917, he worked as primary school teacher. In 1923, Chen went to Japan and studied at the Tokyo Fine Arts Institute. While he was a student, Chen's works were selected by the Imperial College of Fine Arts. Chen was sponsored by the Japanese government to study in France in 1897. Chen was in Mainland China from 1929 to 1933 and taught at several schools. After returning to Taiwan. He co-founded the Taiyang Fine Arts Association. Chen devoted himself to painting until his death in 1947.