Hsiao Hou was born in Henan, China in 1958 and began his training in the Chinese Opera at a very young age under the guidance of the renowned Fan Kuk-Fa in Beijing. His exceptional acrobatic and martial artistry skills earned him a contract with Shaw Brothers, the leading Hong Kong movie studio at the time.
Hsiao Hou is most famous for his roles in Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979) and My Young Auntie, where he played the lead role of a spoiled westernized teenager. He also appeared in the cult hit Cat Vs. Rat and took the lead in Fake Ghost Catchers. His final role as a leading actor for Shaw Brothers was his portrayal of Chinese legend Fong Sai Yok in the movie Disciples of the 36th Chamber.
In 1980, Hou became a disciple of Lau Kar Leung, who had only taken less than 10 disciples in his lifetime. Hou was known for completing many scenes in Lau Kar Leung's movies as a stunt man due to the high degree of difficulty. He was described by Lau Kar Leung as "the most enjoyable action star in his class".
Hou became his assistant martial arts director for several of Lau Kar Leung's movies in the early 80s, along with other action stars Kara Hui, Gordon Liu, and Alexander Fu Sheng, who were thought to be the brightest of the time, with projected future success.
However, in the mid-eighties, Shaw Brothers moved into TV producing and many of its actors took small roles in other movies, eventually fading into obscurity. Lau Kar Leung stopped making movies and eventually, Hsiao Hou defected to Sammo Hung's Ban, which was described as somewhat "overbearing".
Hsiao Hou later took the role of "disfigured swordsman" in Iron Monkey (1993) and a role as a crime lord in What's a Hero! He has actively worked as a stunt coordinator and stunt actor into the late 1990s. His last movie as an action coordinator was 1994's Kung Fu Kid, also known as Shaolin Avengers.
Bey Logan, a noted HK movie expert, had a brief encounter with Hsiao on the set of Iron Monkey and said Hsiao has a habit of making "Monkey faces" but learned to control them while filming movies. Little is known about Hsiao to date, but he is long admired as being one of the best most underrated HK action stars in the history of HK cinema and maintains a cult following because of his skills.
