What are the three treasures named by Laozi in the Tao Te Ching?

Laozi’s three treasures in the Tao Te Ching are compassion, frugality, and humility.

In chapter 67 of the received Tao Te Ching, Laozi identifies three qualities he holds dear: ci, usually translated as compassion; jian, commonly rendered as frugality or moderation; and bu gan wei tianxia xian, meaning not daring to be first in the world. The third is often summarized as humility.

These treasures express a political and ethical ideal associated with Taoist thought. Compassion supports humane conduct, frugality limits excessive desire and display, and humility rejects aggressive competition for prominence. The wording differs among translations, so the final treasure may appear as “not presuming to be first” rather than simply “humility.”

This passage should not be confused with the later Taoist “Three Treasures” of essence, qi, and spirit, which belong to internal-cultivation systems and are a different triad.