The project was started in 1988 under the support of the Research Grant Council in Hong Kong. There were two specific aims of the project:

1. The Han and Pre-Han traditional texts are the essence of the Chinese culture and are of paramount historical values. It was hoped that by establishing an electronic database of these important texts, it would be conducive for a comprehensive study of the characteristics of ancient Chinese culture.
2. To publish the Han and Pre-Han Traditional Texts Concordance Series and to publish the CHANT Database via electronic media. Scholars of diverse interests, for instance, literature, history, linguistics or philosophy, can also make use of the database for inductive, analytical, statistical, comparative studies and the like. By saving the time on data retrieval and preparation, they can focus on high-level creative studies.

1. The entire corpus of traditional texts of a specific period, regardless of their categories and volumes, is inputted into the database. It can assist scholars in the comprehensive study of the culture, history and language of the relevant period as well as in the edition of various dictionaries.
2. All inputted texts were based on the best available editions with the least subsequent tampering, mainly from the Sibucongkan edition. Textual comparisons and punctuation were carried out for all texts. Variant readings were given in footnotes for the reference of the readers so even if readers disagree with our judgment, they can always convert back to the original texts.