Chen was born in a village called Mengjia Youfangtun in Jilin province in the last century, 1959. He lived with his grandparents since he was a child. When Chen was five or six years old, his parents moved to Jixi City. He graduated from high school in 1976. At that time, China was at the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), so after graduation, he was unable to continue his studies. He started working as a construction worker. Since middle school, Chen loved painting and continued to do so in his free time from work, as a hobby, without ever having a studio. In 1985, he had the opportunity to participate in the first self-funded adult art education course in China, organized by the Department of Fine Arts at Northeast Normal University. He graduated in 1988. During his studies, he quit his job and worked as a model until August 1994 to get closer to various artistic influences and to earn a living. During this period, he also had a prolific artistic activity. Most of his works depicted life in the rural areas of his childhood. In June 1991, he successfully held a solo exhibition at the Department of Fine Arts at Northeast Normal University. Soon after, with the help of his teachers, he started selling some of his works. Throughout his years in China, he faced the obstacles imposed by the state to continue painting and being an artist, often changing styles and focusing on social criticism.
