Hou was born in 1940 in Chongqing， Szechuan; he was a violin student from an early age
and had graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory with a performance diploma in 1965. He was concertmaster of Shanghai Ballet Orchestra. As one of the foremost violinists in China， he is critical with respect to tone production in performance. He amuses himself when not performing professionally， tinkering with mechnical watches and adjusting violins. After immigrating to Canada in 1981 he took up amateur violin making， while contining his performing and teaching career.

Being  a performer himself afforded him a measure of extra sensitivity and intuition when dealing with violins and bows. This benefits him especially as a maker， when， nearing the completion stage， he fine tunes his bows. He produced very few excellent bows that are， however， highly sought after by performers . as  Mr. Hou essentially does not commercialize his bows， it is strictly by chance that one comes  upon any of his prized bows.

Hou was born in 1940 in Chongqing， Szechuan; he was a violin student from an early age and had graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory with a performance diploma in 1965. He was concertmaster of Shanghai Ballet Orchestra. As one of the foremost violinists in China， he is critical with respect to tone production in performance. He amuses himself when not performing professionally， tinkering with mechnical watches and adjusting violins. After immigrat...