About: Xiaosheng

The xiaosheng (Chinese: 小生; pinyin: xiǎoshēng; lit. 'little (gentle)man') is a male role type in Chinese opera and a subtype of the sheng. Most xiaosheng characters are young Confucian scholars or, less often, young warriors. Unlike laosheng actors, xiaosheng actors do not wear a beard. However, not all beardless roles are necessarily xiaosheng, for example eunuchs (huanguan) can be played by xiaosheng, chou, jing, or longtao actors (extras).