In 1934, her mother, Wu Quanxiang (武全香), remarried to Shen Hengtai (申恒泰), a doctor in Pingshun County.

Together with other farming families, she established a local agricultural labour mutual aid group and defence force.

[9] In 1953, Shen joined the Chinese Communist Party and gained widespread media attention due to the success of the farming cooperative.

[9] In 1973, Shen became director of the Shanxi Women's Federation, a position she held for ten years, before returning to her home village of Xigou in 1983.

She helped establish a ferroalloy plant, walnut oil factory, and cannery in the local area.

It was reported by local media that she donated 10,000 Chinese yuan to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake relief efforts.

When her calls for widespread internet regulation in 2013 met with controversy, Shen suggested that she did not "follow the trends among the young", but argued that displaying different points of view are a benefit of the National People's Congress system.

[14][15] Shen was married to Zhang Hailiang (张海亮), a veteran of the Korean War who later became director of Changzhi Municipal Urban Construction Bureau.

[16] In 2009 during the 2nd Session of the 11th National People's Congress, Shen was interviewed by Henan Business Daily, and she said[17][18] I strongly support the Communist Party.

Or should it require approval by the [authority] organization?The Southern Metropolis Daily further reported her opinion that some people browsed inappropriate contents online, toxicating the youth.