As a child, he lived with his grandmother in a village on the outskirts of Changsha, and had a habit of following local Taoists around, reveling in the sound of chanting voices and tinkling bells. For a while, he wanted to become a Taoist priest when he grew up.
幼年時期，譚盾跟著外婆住在長沙市郊外的村落，從小就喜歡跟著道士跑，在誦經、搖鈴聲中，他甚至想要當一名道士。