He studied kung fu, spent his early years in Nanjing and joined the Kuomintang when he grew up. Later, by chance, he became a military intelligence officer of the Kuomintang. He left the mainland with the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, moved to Hong Kong and changed his name to Chen Zhiping. Introduced by fellow villagers, he and his wife went to work in the US Consulate in Hong Kong. He was a chef, Malone was a housekeeper, washing and ironing, and Jackie Chan was named Chen Gangsheng.