# Jesse Appell

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**Jesse Appell** (Ai Jiexi (艾杰西) is an American comedian who performs for Chinese and Chinese American audiences, combining traditional [Xiangsheng](/source/Xiangsheng) and American-style standup.[1]

## Early life and education

Originally from [Boston](/source/Boston), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts), Appell went to [Brandeis University](/source/Brandeis_University) where he joined the [Global China Connection](/source/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](/source/Tsinghua_University) as a [Fulbright Scholar](/source/Fulbright_Program).[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](/source/Ding_Guangquan) (丁广泉).[6] Appell founded a [comedy](/source/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](/source/Internet) to help [U.S.-China relations](/source/China%E2%80%93United_States_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](/source/Douyin).[1][10]

## References

1. Deb, Sopan (2026-03-01). ["The American Comedian Who Became a Funnyman in China"](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/arts/jesse-appell-comedian-china.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2026-04-15.

1. Team, GCC Global (19 February 2021). ["Alumni Feature – Jesse Appell – Global China Connection"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210929230457/https://gccglobal.org/alumni-feature-jesse-appell/). Archived from [the original](https://gccglobal.org/alumni-feature-jesse-appell/) on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.

1. ["Comedian Jesse Appell Presents "The Great LOL of China""](https://web.archive.org/web/20210929230456/https://www.umass.edu/hfa/news/comedian-jesse-appell-presents-%E2%80%9C-great-lol-china%E2%80%9D). *www.umass.edu*. 2016-11-30. Archived from [the original](https://www.umass.edu/hfa/news/comedian-jesse-appell-presents-%E2%80%9C-great-lol-china%E2%80%9D) on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.

1. ["Jesse Appell - Laowai in Beijing"](https://www.oneinabillionvoices.org/jesse-appell-full-interview-coming-up-sunday-oct-21/). *One in a Billion*. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2021-09-29.

1. ["Find Programs"](https://exchanges.state.gov/us/program/fulbright-us-student-program). *exchanges.state.gov*. Retrieved 2021-09-26.

1. ["点击过亿！师从丁广泉的"洋北漂"艾杰西生动演绎中国人乐观抗疫_相声"](https://www.sohu.com/a/www.sohu.com/a/378516544_99922437). *www.sohu.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-29.[dead link]

1. 新华网 (2021-02-23). [""美国东北人"艾杰西的中式喜剧情缘"](https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2021-02-23/doc-ikftssap8290544.shtml). *finance.sina.com.cn*. Retrieved 2021-09-26.

1. Team, GCC Global (19 February 2021). ["Comedy, Intercultural Communication and Global Diplomacy: An Interview with Jesse Appell – Global China Connection"](https://gccglobal.org/comedy-intercultural-communication-and-global-diplomacy-an-interview-with-jesse-appell/). Retrieved 2021-09-29.[dead link]

1. Kanthor, Rebecca. ["Amid increasing US-China tensions, humor is serious business"](https://theworld.org/stories/2020/10/07/amid-increasing-us-china-tensions-humor-serious-business). *The World*

1. Boyd, Alexander (2026-03-03). ["Chinese Comedy with Jesse Appell"](https://chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/03/jesse-appell/). *China Books Review*. Retrieved 2026-04-15.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jesse Appell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Appell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Appell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.