( CNN ) -- Long before Chen Guangcheng became internationally known as a human rights crusader , villagers near his home knew him as the man to go to when they had trouble with local authorities . Despite having little formal legal education , Chen began advocating on behalf of villagers in 1996 at the age of 25 , according to China Human Rights Defenders , a China-based human rights group . Chen has been at the center of a burgeoning international impasse since his dramatic escape last week from the guards who kept him under house arrest in a small village in eastern China . He was confined to his home after serving four years in prison , apparently over his legal advocacy for what he called victims of abusive practices such as forced abortions by China 's family planning officials . Fellow activists say he made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing , where he remains as the United States and China try to sort out the future for Chen , who has sought to call attention to the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations in China . Yet he never sought out to be a rabble-rouser , said New York University law professor Jerome Cohen , who first met Chen when the activist traveled to the United States as part of a State Department program in 2004 . `` You got the feeling you were in the presence of some Chinese equivalent of Gandhi or something , '' Cohen said . `` He had this gentle but steely moral force . '' Chen was born in 1971 in Dongshigu , a small farming village in eastern Shandong province , more than 400 kilometers ( 248 miles ) from Beijing . After an eye infection left him blind as a child , Chen seemed destined to a farmer 's life , just like his parents . But at the age of 17 , Chen 's fortune turned when he learned of a school for the blind in a nearby city . Chen learned the law from television and radio broadcasts , newspapers and books . He also took a few constitutional law classes at the college for the blind -- where the primary course of study was massage therapy . `` When he came back to his village , he did n't want to spend his time giving massages , '' Cohen said . `` He wanted to help people who were n't getting help elsewhere . '' He quickly became known locally as an advocate for farmers and the disabled in Shandong , where he offered free advice on taxes and corruption and stood up for the disabled . `` Someone has to fight for people with no voice , '' Time magazine quoted him as saying . `` I guess that person is me . '' He also helped his village obtain a system to pump well water , making clean water easily accessible to villagers for the first time and helping cement his local reputation , Cohen said . His desire to continue helping the disabled and voiceless led Chen and his wife , Yuan Weijing , to take on concerns that officials in Linyi , a city in Shandong , were using violence and coercion in a campaign to enforce China 's policy limiting many couples to one child . The investigation carried him to Beijing , where he pressed national officials to take action against the local authorities . It also carried him to prison , where he spent four years behind bars on what supporters called trumped-up charges before authorities confined him to house arrest in 2010 . What Chen was fighting : forced abortions . In a video released after his escape last week , Chen said he and his family were beaten and cut off from the outside world during their detention . The case that brought him to international prominence began in 2005 . That 's when he learned of claims that local officials were requiring parents with two children to be sterilized and forcing abortions in women pregnant with their third child , according to human rights groups . The officials were trying to meet birth quotas set by the national government , according to Amnesty International . In June 2005 , three months after beginning his investigation , Chen organized a lawsuit against local officials and traveled to Beijing to meet with legal experts and tell international journalists about his findings . Hours after meeting with journalists from Time , he was taken into custody by government agents and sent back to his home , where he was placed under house arrest . Authorities also refused to allow his lawsuit to proceed . Chen escaped from house arrest at that time as well and ventured to Beijing , where he met with supporters -- including Cohen . Chen was pale , anxious , with little appetite , Cohen said . But it was apparent even then that the people he was trying to help with his legal efforts was what concerned him , not his own welfare , Cohen said . `` One day , when he was especially frustrated by the county court 's refusal to accept the lawsuits he brought on behalf of impoverished pro bono 'clients , ' he asked me : 'What do the authorities want me to do ? Lead a protest in the streets ? I do n't want to do that , ' '' Cohen said in testimony to the Congressional-Executive Committee in November . Ironically , that 's what authorities soon accused Chen of doing . His August 2006 conviction on charges of `` intentionally damaging property and gathering crowds to disturb transport order '' led to a four-year prison sentence . Human rights groups roundly called the charges trumped-up and demanded his release . Instead , Chen went to prison where , according to Amnesty International , fellow prisoners beat Chen on orders of guards , authorities refused him medical treatment and limited visits with his wife and lawyers to no more than 30 minutes a month . By this time , the detained activist had turned into an international cause celebre . Time selected him as one of 2006 's `` Top 100 People Who Shape Our World , '' along with Premier Wen Jiabao . The following year , the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation , which grants prizes to Asians who excel in their fields , named Chen among its honorees for his `` irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law . '' After serving his sentence in September 2009 , Chen was released to house arrest , but he and his family continued to endure abuse , according to human rights groups and Chen himself . In a video released April 27 , Chen said guards repeatedly beat him and his wife and prevented visitors from reaching their home . `` All the stories online about the brutal treatment I received from the Linyi authorities , I can personally testify they are true , '' he said in the video posted to YouTube . `` The reality is even harsher than the stories that have been circulating . '' In the video released after Chen 's escape , he called on Chinese authorities to leave his family alone and punish the officials who he says illegally detained him and engaged in abuses against him and his family . The man whose ever-present dark sunglasses have become a symbol for supporters worldwide also posed a question to Chinese officials who have taken great steps to keep his name and likeness out of the national media and discussions . `` If you continue to ignore me , '' he said , `` what would the public think ? '' CNN 's Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report .
Chen never claimed to be a rabble - rouser , says law professor . An eye injury left him blind as a child ; his parents were farmers . He is an advocate for farmers and the disabled in China . The case that brought him to international prominence was in China .