For more than twenty years, Confucianism has experienced a renewal of interest. This best known of the ancient systems of thought originating in Sinic Asia, sometimes imprecisely regarded as a religion and in large part aphoristically philosophical, has nevertheless captured renewed scholarly and, to an extent, even popular interest. This is due not only to the interest of historians, but also to scholars in other fields, such as political science and international relations. All of these scholars have approached Confucianism in different ways resulting in sometimes contrasting valuations and interpretive debates. Yet, the viability of Confucianism per se, not its apparent manifestations in today’s world, in this writer’s view, is very suspect. How can it be considered extant when its ancient foundations, the institutions and people on which it depended for its interpretation, transmission, the performance of its functions and vitality have nearly completely vanished?