Three Treasures
The first of the Three Treasures is "ci" (), which is also a Classical Chinese term for "mother" (with "tender love, nurturing " semantic associations). "Tao Te Ching" chapters 18 and 19 parallel "ci" ("parental love") with "xiao" ( "filial love; filial piety"). Wing-tsit Chan believes "the first is the most important" of the Three Treasures, and compares "ci" with Confucianist "ren" ( "humaneness; benevolence"), which the "Tao Te Ching" (e.g., chapters 5 and 38) mocks.