Jesse Appell
American comedian and author
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesse Appell (Ai Jiexi (艾杰西) is an American comedian who performs for Chinese and Chinese American audiences, combining traditional Xiangsheng and American-style standup.[1]
Early life and education
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Appell went to Brandeis University where he joined the Global China Connection (GCC) and regularly performed stand-up comedy.[2]
Career
In 2012, Appell started on his journey with Xiangsheng.[3] He went to China in September 2012 to study Chinese at Tsinghua University as a Fulbright Scholar.[4] There, he improved his Chinese and was awarded the Critical Language Enhancement Award (CLEA).[5] As part of his Fulbright Scholarship, he studied Xiangsheng with a master of the craft, Ding Guangquan (丁广泉).[6] Appell founded a comedy center, LaughBeijing, that hosted over 300 shows per year in Beijing from 2016 to 2020.[2] His work helped bring aspects of Western-style stand-up comedy to China.[7] He viewed himself as a cultural ambassador, combining his talents with the power of the Internet to help U.S.-China relations and bridge cultural gaps.[8][9]
Appell's 2026 book This Was Funnier in China: An American Comedian's Cross-Cultural Journey described how he built his comedy career, reaching over a million followers on Douyin.[1][10]