[1] Described as a "remarkably gifted interviewer" with a "wholly unexpected, free-and-easy style" by Studs Terkel,[2] Sang Ye has been praised for providing a unique perspective on China in the Reform and Opening Up era, "[bringing] to light the way people make sense of the world through telling themselves stories about their personal journeys.
After graduating from St. Joan’s Girls College, a French Catholic school founded by the Daughters of Charity, his mother became a physical education teacher.
[4][5] Sang Ye's parents divorced in 1971, an event which Nicholas Jose has argued provided a formative experience of "the gulf between noble words and shabby conduct, and the misery caused by double standards and hypocrisy in Chinese society.
"[5] Since the late 1980s, Sang Ye has been married to the Australian scholar of Chinese criminal justice, governance and law Susan Trevaskes.
[5][6] After returning briefly to live in Beijing, following the events of June 4 1989, Sang Ye was evacuated to Australia with his family, eventually settling in Brisbane.