Chen was born in Xizhou, Changhua County in Taiwan. In primary school he was the only male student to take part in a singing competition, representing the school’s choir group. He dreamt of becoming a drawing artist at young age, and became involved in music industries later. After graduation, he moved to the North and started his career in Taipei. He then engaged in various work such as car repair, design artistry, and advertising. After failing three times, he finally gained admittance into Zhong Yi recording company (綜一唱片) right after he changed his name. He was involved in backstage preparation and became the assistant of Liu Chia-chang starting from year 1982. Several years later he attempted composing own music and finally made an entrance to Rock Records with the help of the manager of Li Feng Sound Recording (麗風錄音室), Xu Chongxian (徐崇憲). He published his first personal album named “The Crowded Playground” in 1988.