ENThe article analyses the concept of talent (cai) in the early traditional Chinese culture and philosophy. In addition to it, the political-cultural importance is also revealed. The Chinese category of talent is very specific; there was almost no analogues in the Western world. The aspects of cai are named and analysed. They show that a person was percepted not as a specific and absolute value, but as a typical whole of powers, integrated into the hierarchical structure of talents.