In childhood she was influenced by her mother, who was an artist, but Chen was more interested in engineering, as she thought it would be more beneficial to the society.
[3] During World War II, Kunming was a major hub for refugees from all over China.
Chen attended an art exhibition of Huang Junbi, a prominent painter of the Lingnan School.
[2] Chen specialized in traditional Chinese painting, especially landscape, flowers, and birds, although she was also interested in impressionism and postimpressionism.
[3] In 2015, the Shanghai municipal government opened the Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu Art Gallery in Nanhui New City, Pudong, in honour of the artist couple.