Not an easy task translating laughter
"I think he made a clever choice of jokes," says Wang Zhihua, who saw the show. "They were fresh but not vulgar, and they did not go to the extreme that may make some people feel offended."
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"In a way, the French and Chinese senses of humor are very similar, as we both are very good at wordplay," Michel says. "I think Patrick did a good job as he managed to merge the French and Chinese senses of humor."
But not all the Chinese audience members found the show funny; some were disappointed.
"I think it's a matter of debate and taste," says Jia, the show's translator. "Comedy is very much like opera. Some people can be moved to tears while some remain untouched."
For Vesselier, the biggest thing he learned from the whole process was that all the cliches and stereotypes about China and the Chinese people are wrong.
"I found that all I knew about the Chinese people was wrong," he says. "For example, they say the Chinese always work a lot. No. All the Chinese eat fried spring rolls. No. And Chinese like to stay only with other Chinese. No."
After the performance in Paris, Vesselier says he will bring his show to Beijing and Shanghai in July and Las Vegas in November.
The French comedian has also decided to learn the Chinese language properly because it will improve his show. He also plans to stay in the country with his family for a while so he can gain first-hand inspiration to create a second show in Chinese.
"My audiences of the future are Chinese," he says.
