His father, Tan Jixun (谭继洵), was the governor of Hubei, and his mother, a traditional Chinese housewife named Xu Wuyuan (徐五缘), was very strict with her children.

In 1884, he left his home and traveled to several different provinces of China, including Hebei, Gansu, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanxi.

世间无物抵春愁，合向苍冥一哭休。四万万人齐下泪，天涯何处是神州？In this world, nothing can dispel the sorrow of spring,might as well let out a cry to the vast unknown and be done.400 million people are shedding tears together,where in the ends of the earth can our divine China be found?Between 1896 and 1897, he finished writing a book called Ren Xue (仁学, Theory of Benevolence), which was considered to be the first philosophical work of the Reform.

He was appointed a member of the Grand Council, and within two months the Hundred Days' Reform began with the issuing of an Imperial order titled Ming Ding Guo Shi (明定国是诏).

[5]: 129 Some of the new policies appeared to challenge the existing interests of many government officials, which led to objections from Manchu aristocrats and they reported the case to Empress Dowager Cixi, who was the de facto leader of the central authority as she was holding much more political leverage than the Emperor, even though he had been literally in power for more than two decades.

In September 1898, Tan and his counterparts thought the Dowager and conservative officials were planning to interfere with the Reformation campaign, and he visited general Yuan Shikai (袁世凯), in the hope that Yuan's army could support the Reformation Movement by murdering Ronglu (荣禄, a Manchu official who was in charge of the capital and its surrounding regions then) and imprisoning Cixi in the Summer Palace.

As a result, Cixi returned to the Forbidden City from the Summer Palace on Sep 21 and led a coup, where she seized the throne power from Emperor Guangxu and ordered the arrest of all those involved in the Reformation.

Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned at Ying Tai (a tiny island in the middle of a lake) in Zhongnanhai, allowing Cixi to absolutely consolidate her public standing and authority.

All the Reformation policies were abolished except for Jing Shi Da Xue Tang (京师大学堂), the first government-established tertiary educational institution in China's history, which later on became Peking University.

If there is anyone to be, just start from me.After being captured, Tan was put in the Xing Bu Da Lao (刑部大牢), the jail belonging to the then-Ministry of Justice, and charged with treason and attempting a military coup.

The legal inquiry process was interrupted by an abrupt order from the Emperor (effectively made by Cixi) calling for an immediate execution due to the severity of his crimes.

Tan's wife, Li Run (李闰), became active in promoting girls’ education and also volunteered as a foster mother in Hunan in her later years.