In 1869 he started to study the French language at the school attached to the Fuzhou shipyard.

In 1875 Shen Baozhen sent thirty Chinese students, from the training school attached to the Foochow Arsenal to study shipbuilding and navigation in Europe.

In 1876, Chen Jitong was selected to go to Europe and he wrote a book on his impressions after his return to China the following year.

While serving as a diplomat in France, he wrote several famous works in French, becoming the first Francophone Chinese author.

Following China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, he served as foreign minister of the short-lived Republic of Formosa.