Private Life is Yuan Yongping's first collection of poetry, the best of her poems written in the past ten years. She considers herself a failure in life, except possessing this collection, which she believes both summarizes her writing career and marks an end to this period of her writing. Most of these poems are narratives of her daily life that include observations of her surroundings, readings, and thoughts. She is hoping to begin a new style of writing after this collection. Some of the poems in this book won her the Weiming Lake Poetry Prize in 2011 and a nomination for the Southern Poetry Prize in 2010. The nationally renowned poet Zhang Shuguang says Yuan Yongping finds deeper meaning in her ordinary, daily life and is brave in revealing her innermost feelings. Critic Zhou Zan praises her eye for detail and candid tone. Poet Sang Ke says Yuan Yongping's poetry is a rare thing in the northeast part of China.