 His mother's name is not recorded in history.Chen Daotan died in 548 or 549, while commanding the guards in resisting a siege of the palace at the capital Jiankang by the rebel general Hou Jing.After the palace fell to Hou in 549, Chen Xu's older brother Chen Qian and cousin Chen Chang were imprisoned by Hou, because Chen Chang's father, the general Chen Baxian, had joined forces with Wang Sengbian, a general under the command of Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong in resisting Hou.