Wang Shen held a great interest in music from an early age. Influenced by the War against Japanese Aggression, he traveled to Yan'an, the birthplace of the Chinese Revolution, There, he became acquainted with famous musicians such as Xian Xinghai, and participated in the first performance of the "Yellow River Cantata." He used his newfound knowledge to create revolutionary songs and threw himself into the battle for national liberation.

On October 1, 1949, as a leader of the Tianjin Workers' Musical Group, Wang Shen was deeply impressed by the establishment of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. After his return to Tianjin, he wrote the song "Chinese People Have Stood Up." But Wang Shen still felt the song left the innermost feelings of the Chinese people untouched. He told his wife, that he would write "a great ode to our motherland." In a sense, "Chinese People Have Stood Up" song was the prelude to "Ode to The Motherland."

The inspiration for "Ode to The Motherland" came right before National Day in 1950. In September 1950, almost one year after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Wang Shen went to Beijing to buy musical instruments. He was deeply touched upon seeing the Chinese flag flying in Tiananmen Square, and the image led to the idea for the song's chorus. He wrote the lyrics and melody to the first verse on the train back to Tianjin. When he got home, he sang the song to his pregnant wife and stayed up all night writing the other verses. His first daughter, Wang Hui, was born the next day. She later said that she had been "born along with Daddy's song." In fact, millions of children born after 1949 grew with this song.

Wang Shen loved his country for his entire life. He was a prolific composer and created nearly 1,000 songs and more than ten operas. "Ode to The Motherland" became a classic work of his musical career. Li Lanqing, the former vice premier of China, once said that "Ode to The Motherland" occupied a status as the second national anthem in the Chinese people's hearts. Besides the national anthem, it became the most popular song played at major public events.

In the early 1990s, Wang Shen and his wife traveled all around China, They found many adolescents who had started down the wrong road or had broken the law due to the educational problems or poverty. Wang Shen was upset about the situation and wanted to do something to make a difference. He decided to set up a foundation with his own savings to reward people who write songs for the children. With the help of his friends, the foundation was established and yielded 120,000 songs from all over China. Finally, around 100 songs were selected and presented as a gift to the children from many musicians and composers.

In 1982, Wang Shen suffered a sudden cerebral thrombosis that made him confined to a wheelchair in his later years. However, Wang Shen continued to work from his wheelchair. He gave his last performance from the chair, passionately waving his left arm as the conductor at the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square on National Day in 2005.

His wife says Wang Shen has always believed that if the song "Ode to The Motherland" had not been written by him, it would have been created by other composers anyway, because a good work is a product of an era.

Wang Shen once said: "From my point of view, I have only composed two songs throughout my life. “Ode to The Motherland” is one composed with notes, and the other "Ode to The Motherland" is one composed with my heart. It has not been completed yet.

Wang Shen died in October 2007, at the age of 89.

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