Work on Bard's sonnets gives readers a modern flavor

A new Chinese version of Shakespeare's sonnets by Ye Xiumin. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhang sees Ye's translations as being more successful, because she adopted the approach of paraphrasing and captured key elements of the original sonnets－the theme of beautiful and undying love, the elegance of language and the enchanting mood or atmosphere created by them.

A Shakespeare fan commented on Douban, a Chinese online platform, that Ye's translation brings readers closer to the Bard's "mood of love" compared with earlier versions that sounded more like an elderly man recalling his younger days.

Prior to getting her book published, Ye had posted her translations on social media. Having received positive feedback, she went ahead with presenting it to a broader readership.

For every sonnet she translated, she also offered an essay alongside recording her thoughts and ideas.

Her online translations that mix modern Chinese, especially catchy phrases, with expressions in ancient Chinese poems, helped take excerpts from the upcoming book to her friends and beyond. So when she launched a crowd-funding request to publish the book, she got the task done in two days, thanks to her already existing fan base.

Born in East China's Fujian province, Ye has an English major from Beijing's University of International Relations. She is also an avid reader who has read many genres of poetry since very young.

Before starting to translate Shakespeare, she worked as a professional translator in the Chinese navy for 16 years.

A single mother of a teenage boy, Ye spends long hours commuting.

"The subway is a good place, as I always revise my stanzas six to seven times," she says of her time on trains.

Ye is not afraid of possible questions that could be raised about her version of Shakespeare's sonnets.

American poet Robert Frost is her next project.