The cultivation of opera talents has always been a slow process. Long growth cycle and low yield rate are recognized challenges in the industry. Looking back at the 65 years that Taiyuan Jin Opera Art Research Institute has gone through, from the older generation's "Three Passes Point Handsome", "Fengyi Pavilion", "Da Jin Zhi", to the nearly 20 years we have released "Fu Shan Jin Jing", "Yu Chenglong", "Lan Ke Shan Xia", "Shang Ma Street"... Behind each well received and popular play, the main support has always been "people". However, we have always faced a worrying team structure: over half of the staff are over fifty years old, and young actors are scarce. About 10 years ago, when we were performing in the mountainous area of Lvliang, Shanxi, a group of "little bald heads" watching the show caught my attention. They are children from Lvliang Opera School. In order to practice their skills efficiently, boys shave their heads and girls cut their hair short. They are full of sincerity, just like us who studied hard back then. Out of affection for the children, I blurted out, 'If you don't have a good place to go after graduation, come to Taiyuan and find me.' But four years later, when I fulfilled my promise and accepted these 125 grassroots students, I realized the difficulty. Most of these students come from disadvantaged families in remote mountainous areas, some of whom are left behind children who cannot even afford basic daily necessities. How can we make them settle down with peace of mind? With the support of the Municipal Party Committee and Government, we have explored ways to provide logistical support. We found an abandoned 1950s old club in the pointed lawn area and transformed it into a training base that integrates accommodation, meals, and rehearsals. In daily life, we actively strive to negotiate with the city and implement living allowances for everyone. At the same time, more than 100 sets of brand new bedding that were idle for the Taiyuan National Games were being prepared - prior to this, many children could only sleep on a thin cushion placed on top of packaging cardboard boxes. Recruiting these children is not only about finding a way out for them, but also about giving vitality to the theatrical genre. The growth of opera talents comes with a 'cruel' gene. Some children are unable to stand in front of the stage again after experiencing vocal changes or physical development. We did not simply give up, but instead planned diverse development paths for them: either sponsoring their college education upgrade, or having senior mentors provide one-on-one guidance and transfer them to behind the scenes positions such as lighting and sound. Only by firmly holding onto the "bowl of rice" in opera can they find their own professional dignity. Only through practice can young talents stand out. We carefully rehearsed nearly 20 major dramas for young actors, including "Female General of Yangmen", "Shuai at Three Key Points", "King Qi Pulls a Horse", "Beating the Golden Bough", and more than 30 martial arts dramas focusing on skills, including "Zhong Kui Marries His Younger Sister", "Pan Chang Zhan", "Eighteen Arhat Harvests the Giant Roc", to create an exclusive platform for reporting and performing, and actively invited experts to comment on the pulse. More importantly, there is a breakthrough in the mechanism - in order to completely break the dilemma of young actors serving as "soldiers and palace maids" for a long time and their potential being difficult to unleash, in 2024, the institute broke the original system and reorganized, establishing an experimental team mainly composed of in-service backbone and a youth team mainly composed of training base students. The initial entry of the 'new crop' into the market was difficult. Children lack popularity, and relying solely on themselves to take on commercial performances at the grassroots level will result in significantly lower prices and few opportunities for performances. We adopt a market strategy of "protecting famous actors and guiding the new with the old", with actors who have been famous for a long time promising to participate in a small number of performances, and arranging mature backbone actors who have already had a certain influence in society to step in, allowing more children to take on the lead in the vast majority of performances. 'Riding a horse, sending off a journey' has stimulated the astonishing explosive power of the Youth League. Last year, the Youth League held 243 commercial performances, which were well received by the audience. Nowadays, the experimental group and the youth group complement each other. When the Youth League lacks a lead actor for a big play like "Dian Shuai Po Zhen", the mature backbone of the Experimental Troupe will lend a helping hand; When the experimental group needed to perform large-scale martial arts scenes of somersaults and falls, the children of the youth group worked hard to reinforce. This "dual group interaction and resource sharing" model not only enriches the stage presentation, but also vividly showcases the "one dish" spirit of mutual achievement between our theater troupe. The inheritance of traditional Chinese opera requires not only the "skeleton" supported by mechanisms, but also the "flesh and blood" passed down orally and heart. Since the moment I officially enrolled in 2010, I have felt that the burden on my shoulders has become heavier. Hand in hand, heart to heart teaching, just to teach the traditional classic plays learned from my mentor Li Yuexian word by word, one sentence, one move at a time. We will also turn the classic plays created and inherited over the years into youth versions one by one, and deliver them to the younger generation. Three pairs of young actors, including Ren Shujing and Hao Xiaohui, rehearsed the youth version of "Under the Lanke Mountain". From singing to body posture, I demonstrated every look carefully. When I first rehearsed with costumes, I couldn't stop crying when watching them grow from a former supporting role to a leading actor on the stage. Good seedlings who love drama are equally precious in the world. As long as the younger generation has a genuine reverence for the stage and a love for art, the boundaries between social class and theatrical genres should naturally dissolve. A few years ago, young Yunnan opera actors Li Yulong and his wife traveled to Taiyuan with drummers and qin players in order to learn "Under the Lanke Mountain". This group of young people, relying solely on videos, have created high-quality music across genres, and Li Yulong himself has been "scraping" frame by frame according to the video. This persistence has moved me. I told them a play, and in order to digest and absorb it, they almost stayed up all night. The next day, they were able to present a stunning qualitative change that amazed me. Moved by the spirit of perseverance in art, I officially brought this cross genre male actor under my supervision at the beginning of this year. There is no shortcut to cultivating talents in traditional Chinese opera. Only by sticking to our original intention, giving our all, and supporting every passion. (Looking into the New Era)