The article discusses the characteristics of Zhang Ju (Chapters and Sentences) in ancient writings. It also discusses the
difference between Zhang Ju and other annotative means such as Zhuan, Shuo and Gu. The article explores the time of germination of the
study of Zhang Ju and the reasons for its prosperity and decline. The author believes that as an annotation style, Zhang Ju first appear at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. And in the period of the Emperor Xuan in the Western Han Dynasty, the study of Zhang Ju began to be re-garded as a kind of
academic learning. The study of Zhang Ju thrived in the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties. This had much to do with the support and encouragement of emperors who implemented cultural despotism and academic confinement. This also had much to do with the need of various academic factions to strengthen their power. Zhang Ju is closely related to the academic traditions of teachers and families, but it is not equal to these traditions. Zhang Ju is not the field of learning attributed only to the scholars who studied Confucian classics written in modern script. The study of Zhang Ju gradually became frivolous and complicated later and was severely attacked by learned scholars. It declined finally. The reason for its decline is that it is a closed academic system, and just an annolative method which can not fully explain the principles and significance of the classics.