Male lead of the novel, also referred to as Chen Yichen. He is responsible, dependable, and trustworthy. He works as an educated youth and is marrying Yang Tao. He supports Yang Tao's decisions and publicly declares that she will make all household decisions. His family sends money monthly to the Yang family as compensation for his brother's death. He was originally supposed to return to Beijing in 1978 and work at the China Ship Research Institute.
