In September 1927 he planned an uprising in Wan'an County, Jiangxi Province and returned home in December 1927.

In 1937, he went to Yan'an, where he was active in the border region of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia.

In 1946, he went to Jilin Province as part of the communist activities in Northeast China.

After the creation of the People's Republic of China, he went back to his home province to be the 1st Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary until 1952 when he moved to work in the Central Government.

Like many other Central Government leaders, Chen was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and was dismissed from office in 1967.