At the turn of the century, key words researching sprang up in domestic academic circles under the influence of Raymond Williams, who was a culture scientist in England. Now and then a series of books and papers which used ＂key words＂ as the key words came out. By the second decade of the 21 st century, key words researching gets into trouble. Firstly, the departmental system makes objects scattering; secondly, the explanatory models of making a dictionary lead to de-conte-xtualized explanations; at last, Confucian classics argumentation supremacy close over the value of key words. So, how to find a way out of the dilemma for key words researching？ There are three solutions： to begin with, break through the departmental system and explain the key words systematically; moreover, break the explanatory model in dictionary and apply lifecourse theory to key words explaining; finally, explore Meta-code key words for the inheriting and innovation of Chinese culture. As for the methodology, there are three solutions, too. First of all, choose the key words; in the second part, classify the key words; in the final part, apply life-course theory to key words explaining.