The collection and study of parallel passages found in ancient Chinese texts began in 1818. Chen Shi-ko, a famous scholar in the Qing dynasty, discovered that for the total 290 chapters in the Hanshi wazhuan, more than 70% of them also appeared in the other works. He therefore decided to compile a collection of the parallel passages found in Hanshi waizhuan entitled Hanshi waizhuan Shuzheng. Chen Shi-ko continued to compile another collection of parallel passages, the Kungzi jiayu shuzheng, which was published in the same year. Thus it is evident that the collection of parallel passages is worthy of particular attention.

Professor Ho Che Wah and Professor Fan Sin Biu of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature together with Dr. Chu Kwok Fan of the Institute of Chinese Studies started the project of "A Complete Study of the Parallel Passages Found in Pre-Han and Han Traditional Texts" in 1999 making use of the CHANT Database. With the help of computer technology, the project aimed at a comprehensive study of all parallel passages found in Pre-Han and Han texts. It was virtually completed in 2002 with more than 70,000 passages collected. Parallel passages found in Gu lienu zhuan, Xunzi, Jiayi xinshu and Dadai liji was published. It is very helpful for understanding how ancient texts were transmitted and their mutual imitation as well as for the emendation of extant versions.

Since the Internet is getting very popular in recent years, the project is hosted under the CHANT website for wider and easier access. All of the collected parallel passages can be found via the website thus giving anyone interested in studying parallel passages in ancient texts a handy reference.