In 1986, with a brilliant track record to his name, Tan Dun went to the United States to enroll at Columbia University. There he came under the guidance of Chou Wen-chung, a professor of Chinese music, and committed himself to developing a musical style fusing traditional oriental influences with those of the modern-day West.
一九八六年，譚盾以優異的成績，得到美國哥倫比亞大學獎學金，由中國到了美國，進入哥大，接受老一輩中國音樂教授周文中的指導，致力發展出一種融合古老東方與西方新文化的音樂風格。