Chen was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu. He studied at Pomona College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1920, and he then pursued a M.A. in history at The University of Chicago. In Spring 1922, he enrolled at Harvard University for a history PhD; there he assisted Charles Haskins. However, A year later, he left the United States for Germany, and completed his doctorate at Berlin University. In 1924, he earned an academic position at Peking University.