 In 1895, he was appointed governor of Hunan province, where he carried out a reform program with the aid of Tan Sitong and Liang Qichao.Chen's sympathies to the Hundred Days' Reform attracted criticism from his superiors, especially Empress Dowager Cixi who distrusted reformists such as Chen Baozhen.He was dismissed from his post in 1898 after the failure of the Hundred days' Reform.