It was founded by the Red Turban rebel general Chen Youliang.

Chen Youliang first dominated and later assassinated the Red Turban leader Xu Shouhui and usurped his regional regime.

At its height, Chen Han territory encompassed the modern provinces of Hubei, Jiangxi, and Hunan, but Jiangxi mostly fell to another warlord, Zhu Yuanzhang, in 1361.

His teenage son, Chen Li, succeeded him but no longer had the resources to resist the powerful Zhu, who conquered Han the next year.

Chen Li surrendered to Zhu and then moved to Goryeo (Korea), where he had children and became the progenitor of the Korean Yangsan Jin clan.