Eventually, after visiting her parents during a vacation, she refused to return to school, and despite opposition from her parents, she stayed to study Taiwanese opera under a strict regimen from her mother,[4][5] practising proper ways of walking across the stage, conditioning by stretching muscles in her legs, basic martial arts movements, and singing.
Yang earned enough money to buy a house for her parents, the first they had ever owned, and developed a southeast Asian fan base.
[5] In an attempt to revive the genre, some radio shows again began highlighting Taiwanese opera, and performances by the Tien Ma Group were broadcast live throughout the island.
[4] The lack of audience gave Yang experience of performing multiple characters at the same time, as radio stations attempted to economise.
[7][8][4][5][6] During tours of Taiwan or abroad every few years, Yang was idolised by fans, who would often place gold pendants around her neck or thrown money onto the stage in red envelopes.
[7] In 1969, when Yang was 25, TTV's general manager appointed her the leader of the Taiwan Television Opera Troupe, and also the show's producer.
[4][5] In addition to developing script outlines, she also hired Ti Shan to write new pieces and Chen Tsung-ming to direct.
Responding to the tighter time schedule, Yang cut out long, slow weeping scenes and emphasized faster-paced material.
[4] Yang starred in the 1982 Huangmei opera film Imperial Matchmaker (狀元媒) directed by Pao Hsueh-li, alongside Ivy Ling Po.
In 1981, Yang's group was invited to perform in Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and she chose her favourite drama, The Fisherwoman《漁孃》as the presentation, with assistance from students of the Haikuang Opera School.
[8][5][6] In 1984, she toured the United States, Japan and the Philippines to entertain overseas Chinese, under arrangements by the Government Information Office.
The play, about a young warrior who grapples with feelings of love, hate, and clan loyalty during the Song dynasty (960–1279), included demonstrations of martial arts, but also depicted the tender, bittersweet romance between Lu and Yehlu.
In the beginning of Lu Wen-lung, Yang wielded two spears in a rhythmic combat dance, considered one of the most difficult martial art scenes in Taiwanese opera.
[2] In 2007, having been absent from the public eye for four years, Yang was asked to return to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the National Theater by performing new versions of the operas A Civet for a Prince《狸貓換太子》and A Life for the Master《丹心救主》.