Never to return Once in Taiwan she began studying for the stage under Little-Treasure Phoenix, a big star at the time. "I was just a kid, but I was already a very good performer." Having grown up in a stage family, Chen Ma-ling could remember stage lines after listening to them just once.
十多歲的孩子，跟著當時著名的藝人「小寶鳳」學藝，加入復興社歌仔戲班，「還是囝仔，我已經做戲做的嚇嚇叫，」出身戲曲家庭，陳瑪玲就有聽一遍戲文就記起來的本事。