[1] He served in a number of official posts during his long career, working in the Imperial Diary Office in 1672 before being appointed sub-chancellor of the Grand Secretariat in 1676.

In 1678, Chen was sent to serve in the Imperial Study with Ye Fang'ai, but returned home to observe a mourning period for his mother who recently died.

However, Chen was immediately recalled to office to look after government affairs after the death of one Grand Secretary, Zhang Yushu, and the absence of another, Li Guangdi.

[1] After Chen's death, the emperor personally wrote an elegy dedicated to him and ordered his third son, Yunzhi, and other high officials to attend his funeral.

In 2018, CCTV produced a 39-episode television series, Yi dai ming xiang Chen Ting Jing (一代名相陈廷敬), which dramatizes his life and official career.

His residence, the House of the Huangcheng Chancellor, in Shanxi is a popular tourist attraction today and was given an AAAAA rating in 2011 by the China National Tourism Administration.