Work on Bard's sonnets gives readers a modern flavor

In Ye Xiumin's words, William Shakespeare - in his sentimental and philosophical way - was a great lover, who was also afraid of darkness.

Reading and translating the Bard's sonnets she realized how much of a poet he was, in addition to being one of the world's finest playwrights.

"I see how loyal he is to the 'fair youth' that he has hundreds of ways to praise the person's beauty, without repetition of phrases. I also see his hesitation in expressing his love because of the age gap between them," Ye, 46, tells China Daily at a cafe in Beijing, speaking of one of Shakespeare's sonnets.