His family had some landed wealth, but his parents died when Chen was still a child. Not much over ten years old, he had to bury his own grief and help his grandmother look after his younger siblings.
家中薄有田產，然而父母親相繼在他童年時候過世，十多歲的孩子，藏起自己的傷悲，和祖母一同負起照顧弟妹的工作。