Su Zhou Fuli (now Su County, Anhui Province) native. After his hometown was occupied by the Jin people, he fled back to the Southern Song Dynasty. He once served as He'an Lang, Judge of the Imperial Physician, and concurrently as a good physician of the Hanlin Academy. He was proficient in internal medicine and pediatrics. He practiced medicine in the Lianshui area of Jiangsu for 15 years, saving many patients. He compiled family-tested prescriptions and in 1254 wrote the Infantile Smallpox Fang Lun in one volume, which specifically discussed smallpox: in addition to the Xiao'er Douzhen Fang Lun, Chen also wrote the Xiao'er Bingzheng Fang Lun in four volumes, discussing the care and development of children, the observation and treatment of children's fingerprints and facial colors, and also discussing the treatment of infantile convulsion and smallpox, with attached prescriptions. In 1958, the Commercial Press published Chen's two books together, titled Xiao'er Bingyuan Smallpox Fang Lun. Chen's academic focus was on emphasizing the spleen and stomach, and he was skilled in using warm tonics as a key characteristic.