Sha was born 1908 in Yin County (now Yinzhou District, Ningbo), Zhejiang Province.
In summer 1925 in Ningbo, Sha participated in the activity which supported the May Thirtieth Movement in Shanghai.
In 1926, Sha graduated from the financial school, went back to Yin County, and led some local peasants movements.
[citation needed] After 1949, Sha was appointed as the President of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.
[citation needed] Sha wrote many articles and one monograph about Chinese history.