Ma served as a counselor.

Later, Ma went to the county to study. After graduating from normal school, he was assigned to work in a primary school as a counselor of the school brigade. On one occasion, Ma wrote a work arrangement report with a brush and handed it to the headmaster. The headmaster was very appreciative of his homework arrangement, but he made a mockery of his calligraphy. ...

This incident greatly stimulated the horse and inspired his confidence in further writing. He began to collect many inscriptions by Liu Gongquan, Yan Zhenqing and others, and after careful consideration and practice, he often gained a lot.

It is such an episode in life that Ma gradually became fascinated with calligraphy. When he often looks at the natural landscape around him, he always organically associates many things with calligraphy.