In 1949, Kuankuan joined the army, and began the itinerant life of a soldier. While stationed on the island of Kinmen off the coast of the Chinese mainland, he started to write poems, motivated simply by the fact that poets are their own masters.
民國三十八年，管管在戰亂中投筆從戎，隨軍離家，開始了他三十年東飄西蕩的軍旅生涯，直到民國六十七年才以上尉階退伍。管管曾在金門駐守多年，開始寫詩也是在金門。