Ah-Q comes from the lower rungs of society, making the chou (clown) seemingly appropriate, but a clown traditionally doesn't have a singing part. It would be too serious if they used a laosheng (old man) role, and so librettist Xi chose a character type that has been developed in the mainland over the past few decades: the chousheng (the clown-cumleading man).
以阿Ｑ為例，他是個下層人物，以丑角演出雖然適當，但傳統上這個角色是沒有唱腔的，要以老生演出也未免太正經八百，於是編劇習志淦就給他按上了大陸這十幾年來出現的新行當「丑生」。