Born Chen Zhe (陳哲), he was renamed Chen Shao (陳韶) and also known by the art names De'an Laoren (得安老人), Jiawai Yuzi (葭外漁子), and Ershan Shanqiao (二山山樵), among others.

[1][2] Born in Mingjing, Panyu, Guangdong in 1884, Chen studied under painter Ju Lian.

Upon completing his studies, Chen remained overseas, serving as secretary general of the Canadian branch of the Kuomintang.

He became active in the Guangdong Kuomintang chapter in 1922, the same year he arrived in China.

He withdrew politically from Wang, who led a Japan-friendly collaborationist government from 1940 to 1944.