Having begun learning opera at the age of seven and having debuted at age 14, he was just 21 when he founded his own troupe, the Hsin Ho Hsing Opera Company of Yuanlin, in 1956.
七歲啟蒙學戲、十四歲正式登台，到民國四十五年他創立自己的劇團﹘﹘員林新和興歌劇團時，不過廿一歲。