Chen was born into a banking family; his father, Chen Shuliu, served as the head of the Bank of Communications in
Liaoning under
Zhang Zuolin's rule in Northeast China. After earning his master's degree in psychology from
Columbia University, Chen returned to China and taught at
Northeastern University, Beijing Normal University, and Peking University. Following the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War, he joined the
National Southwestern Associated University. His efforts to defuse student protests drew the attention of
Kang Tse, a close associate of
Chiang Kai-shek, which led to his appointment as Minister of Youth in the
Three Principles of the People Youth Corps. Following the war, Chen returned to Peking University. During the 1946
Shen Chong case, which involved the rape of a female student by U.S. military personnel, Chen not only questioned whether Shen was enrolled at the university but also publicly criticized her for walking alone at night. These remarks, combined with the later revelation that Shen Chong was both a student and a relative of Chen, sparked nationwide anti-American student demonstrations and widespread public outrage. During the Chinese Civil War, Chen worked alongside
Zhu Jiahua,
Fu Sinian,
Hang Liwu, and
Chiang Ching-kuo to lead efforts to relocate academics from mainland China to Taiwan—a campaign to as the “rescue of intellectuals.” From 1950 to 1952, Chen served as Director of the First Department under the KMT's
Party Reform Program, where he was responsible for overseeing and guiding local party branches across Taiwan. In 1953, he joined the Department of Psychology at National Taiwan University as a professor and helped lay the groundwork for the university’s graduate research programs. His remaining influence in government circles dissipated entirely following the death of his key political patron,
Chen Cheng, in 1965. Chen died in 1999 at the age of 97. == Legacy and assessment ==