Chinese military leader whose support allowed Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan) to establish in Guangzhou (Canton; 1920) the revolutionary government that later spawned both the Chinese Nationalist (Nationalist Party) and the Chinese communist movements.

Originally a Nationalist revolutionary, Chen by 1918 had become the military leader of southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong provinces. Occupying Guangzhou in 1920, he took over the governorship of Guangdong province and established Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou with the office of president extraordinary. Chen thereupon proceeded to expand his power into all of Guangxi province, but when Sun, who was anxious to unify the country, ordered Chen to advance into central China, he refused and instead attacked Guangzhou, temporarily ousting Sun. Chen was driven out of the city the next year, and in 1925 his forces were demolished by the Nationalist forces. Chen escaped to Hong Kong, where he remained until his death.