When he was young, he learned about western knowledge from the translated books brought by his uncle Chan Mung-nam (陳夢南), a Christian preacher.

He met Au Fung-Chi (區鳳墀), who introduced him to Sun Yat-sen in 1889, a medical student at Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.

Following the failure of the Canton Uprising of 1895, Chan fled to Yokohama, Japan with Sun and Cheng Si-leung.

In 1899, he returned to Hong Kong to reform the Chung-wo Tong (中和堂) founded by Yau Lit earlier.

In 1923 the Canton Government was forced to dissolve due to Chen Jiongming's rebellion, and Chan returned to develop Xinhui.

His casket was escorted by the Nationalist representatives via the sea to Guangdong and was buried on the mountainside of Cha'an Temple in his hometown.