Like the Siku editors, readers today may be inclined to dismiss Kongzhai because it seems improbable that the robe and cap of Confucius could have been taken so far from his homeland and buried 1,000 years after his death. But it would be more useful to understand how and why Kongzhai came into existence and what it has signified. Over the course of its long history, brief episodes of activity and attention have alternated with longer periods of neglect, decline, and even complete disappearance. Although nothing remains there at present, this recurrent pattern suggests that Kongzhai should not be written off as gone forever.